2010 November
A Movember to Remember
Hellboy mo'ing it up
Upper lip, slick and hip, pointy on the ends! (makin’ a new set of friends!) …
If you aren’t familiar with Movember, it’s a charity fund-raising event that spans November in which men grow mustaches to raise awareness about men’s health and raise funds to fight men’s cancer. The event started in Australia in 2003, and eventually migrated to America as well … and to the offices of Dark Horse Comics.
“I participated last year and have talked a number of my DH co-workers into growing a mustache this year as well,” said Jim Gibbons, publicity coordinator for Dark Horse. “We’re not an official company team, but there are 7 DH employees mo’ing up.” In addition, Jim has also set up a Comics Network page on the Movember site for any comics folks who are participating. So if you’re sporting a ‘stache this month as a part of the event, head over there and sign up.
- November 3, 2010 @ 10:00 AM by JK Parkin
Comics A.M. | The comics Internet in two minutes
Supreme Court
Legal | The U.S. Supreme Court appeared divided Tuesday during oral arguments on a California law that would forbid the sale or rental of violent video games to minors. Justices Antonin Scalia, Ruth Bader Ginsberg and Sonia Sotomayor raised free-speech objections to the statute, with Ginsberg asking: “If you are supposing a category of violent materials dangerous to children, then how do you cut it off at video games? What about films? What about comic books?” Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and Justices Stephen G. Breyer and Samuel A. Alito Jr. indicated their belief that the state can restrict the access of minor to video games, while Justices Anthony M. Kennedy and Elena Kagan probed the issues without showing their cards. It will probably be several months before the court hands down a decision. [Los Angeles Times, PC World]
Crime | A man charged with orchestrating the July theft of the expensive comics collection of an elderly Rochester, N.Y., man who was beaten and later died has been arrested by FBI agents for allegedly selling hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of stolen merchandise on eBay. [The Daily News]
Crime | Police in Stamford, Conn., charged Spider-Man and Captain America with assault and Poison Ivy with breach of peace following a weekend brawl in a parking garage. [The Associated Press]
- November 3, 2010 @ 08:51 AM by Kevin Melrose
The Middle Ground #27: Maximum Damage On My Preconceptions – Or Something
I am not a Dungeons and Dragons fan. This is, in fact, putting it mildly; fantasy of almost all sorts brings me out in nervous hives – I was that one person complaining that the Lord of The Rings movies were too long and kind of dull! – and so, you can imagine my reaction when I got the first issue of IDW’s new D&D comic in the mail. How, then, did I end up deciding that it was the model for the ideal opener for any debut comic? Continue Reading »
- November 2, 2010 @ 04:30 PM by Graeme McMillan
Food or Comics? | This week’s comics on a budget
Absolute All-Star Superman
If it’s Tuesday, it must be time for Food or Comics?, where every week some of the Robot 6 crew talk about what comics we’d buy if we were subject to certain spending limits — $15 and $30. We also talk about what we’d buy if we had extra money to spend on what we call our “Splurge” item. Check out Diamond’s release list to see what arrives in comic shops this week,then play along in our comments section.
Chris Mautner
I’m running behind and want to go vote, so I’ll try to make this quick:
If I had $15:
The Boys #48 ($3.99) and Godland #33 ($2.99) are the the two must buys for me this week, along with the 17th issue of Berlin ($4.95). It’s been awhile since Jason Lutes published a chapter in this now-decade-plus long serial set in pre-Nazi Germany. I’m just impressed that he’s still sticking to the serial pamphlet format while every other indie artist has abandoned it. Bully for you, Lutes.
- November 2, 2010 @ 04:01 PM by JK Parkin
Can YOU unravel the secret of All Star Superman?
What’s that you say? You didn’t know there was a secret? Well, various internet wonks have been kicking around a very intriguing theory about Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely’s All Star Superman — the Absolute Edition of which hits stores tomorrow — involving its villain, Lex Luthor. In his latest column at Techland, Douglas Wolk sums up the All Star Superman secret theory and runs down all the available evidence for it. If you’re the sort of person who enjoys picking apart literary mysteries for which there aren’t obvious answers present in the text — from Mulholland Drive to the end of The Sopranos — this is very much the article for you. And even if you aren’t, it’ll give you a whole new way to look at one of the past decade’s greatest superhero comics, which is always a good thing.
- November 2, 2010 @ 01:00 PM by Sean T. Collins
Ryan Dunlavey teams with chef Amanda Cohen on comic cookbook
Art from "The Dirt Candy Cookbook" proposal by Ryan Dunlavey
If the promise of Anthony Bourdain’s Get Jiro! isn’t enough to whet the appetites of foodies and comics fans alike, now Amanda Cohen, chef-owner of Dirt Candy in New York City, has announced she’s collaborating with artist Ryan Dunlavey (Action Philosophers) on a graphic novel cookbook. Dirt Candy is an acclaimed vegetarian, or perhaps simply vegetable, restaurant that opened two years ago.
“I’m not sure if ‘graphic novel’ is the best term here since it’s a cookbook and not a novel,” Cohen writes on her restaurant’s website, “but that’s the best description I can come up with.”
The cookbook will be published in summer 2012 by Clarkson Potter, an imprint of The Crown Publishing Group.
(via The Village Voice, Eater National)
- November 2, 2010 @ 12:00 PM by Kevin Melrose
Rejoin The Perry Bible Fellowship with new comic, old cartoons
from "Memorabilia" by Nick Gurewitch
And there was much rejoicing (yay): I fired up my RSS reader this morning when what to my wondering eyes should appear but a new Perry Bible Fellowship comic strip by Nichols Gurewitch! Reunited and it feels so good.
Meanwhile, the infrequency of PBF updates is explained in part by Gurewitch’s forays into animation; click the link and check the sidebar on the left for links to several shorts he wrote for the BBC. This one’s my favorite:
Elite Fleet Ep. 2 – The Broken Code from Alec Lourmier on Vimeo.
- November 2, 2010 @ 12:00 PM by Sean T. Collins
Preview: The Martian Confederacy Volume 2: From Mars With Love
The Martian Confederacy
Coming this holiday season is the “worlds first child slave labor comedy” — The Martian Confederacy Volume 2: From Mars With Love by Jason McNamara (First Moon) and Paige Braddock (Jane’s World)
It’s the sequel to their 2008 graphic novel about a ragtag group of heroes on Mars in the year 3535. Here’s the description of the sequel: “Hearts will be broken, moons will be destroyed and hooch will flow in zero gravity in this sci-fi romantic action comedy set in the year 3535. When someone, or something, starts kidnapping the children of Mars, the planet’s most notorious outlaws band together to rescue them. Off world, out numbered and falling apart from within can the Martian Confederates discover the secret of Phobos before they destroy each other? And does what ‘happen in space, stay in space?’”
You can find it in Previews under order code 101040; the 150-page graphic novel costs $15. Check out a huge 25-page preview of it after the jump.
- November 2, 2010 @ 11:00 AM by JK Parkin
Kickstart my art | Ulysses Seen creators offer bonuses
One of Rob Berry's original character sketches
Rob Berry and his collaborators are working like demons on Ulysses Seen, their webcomic adaptation of James Joyce’s Ulysses, but at the current rate it will take years to finish. So figuring that time is money, they have started a Kickstarter campaign to allow Berry to work full time on the comic (which is also an iPad app) and move it forward.
It turns out that the cost of keeping Berry at the drawing table for the next couple of months is a fairly modest $6,300, and they have already raised over $5,000 with a pretty sweet set of rewards, from an etched pint glass to a personal appearance.
But late in the game, Berry has thrown in another incentive to sweeten the pot at the $35 level: One of his original character sketches of random Dubliners. That’s a great price for a piece of original art, and Berry plans to offer a different one each day.
The campaign ends on Dec. 14.
- November 2, 2010 @ 10:00 AM by Brigid Alverson
Grant Morrison on Batman & Robin covers, logos
Batman & Robin logos
With both a deluxe version of Batman & Robin v2: Batman vs. Robin and the final issue of Grant Morrison’s run on the comic hitting shops this week, DC’s Source blog had a trio of posts yesterday promoting the occasion. In addition to a preview of Batman & Robin #16, they also shared Morrison’s thoughts on the covers to issues 7-12 and, as seen above, Rian Hughes’ logo design.
Both arrive in shops tomorrow.
- November 2, 2010 @ 09:30 AM by JK Parkin
Viz news #2: Shonen Jump adds online manga
The manga publisher Viz Media has done well with Shonen Jump: The magazine, established in 2002, has a monthly circulation of just over 200,000, which is pretty respectable, and then Viz sells the same stories all over again as graphic novels.
Now they are adding online manga to the mix: The December issue of Shonen Jump carries a full-page announcement of a new online manga service available only to subscribers to the magazine. One series, Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan, will run exclusively online until it is collected in graphic novel form. The site will also include “massive online previews” of two more series, Toriko and Bakuman: Subscribers can read the first four chapters just before the graphic novel comes out. The rest of the Shonen Jump series will continue in print only.
I e-mailed some questions to Viz spokesperson Jane Lui, and she forwarded them to Joel Enos, the senior editor of Shonen Jump, who provided some more details of the new package.
Brigid Alverson: How will readers subscribe to the service—do you have to be a Shonen Jump subscriber or can you get an online-only subscription?
Joel Enos: A subscription (for now) is to the magazine as a whole. When you subscribe to the magazine, you also get the access to the exclusive online content of the magazine.
- November 2, 2010 @ 09:00 AM by Brigid Alverson
Comics A.M. | The comics Internet in two minutes
Supreme Court
Legal | The U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments today on a California law banning the sale or rental of violent video games to minors. The statute, which was struck down in February 2009 by a federal appeals court, is opposed by the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, among other organizations. [CNET]
Awards | The Joe Shuster Canadian Comic Book Creator Awards will move next year from Toronto Comicon to the Calgary Comic & Entertainment Expo. The seventh annual awards will be presented on June 18, 2011. [Joe Shuster Awards]
Conventions | Exhibitor tables have gone on sale for MoCCA Festival 2011, set for April 9-10 at the 69th Regiment Armory in New York City. [MoCCA Festival]
Conventions | The student newspaper at California State University Long Beach reports on last weekend’s Long Beach Comic Con. [Daily 49er]
Retailing | Peter Hartlaub profiles James Sime, owner of Isotope comic book lounge in San Francisco: “Nobody made a comic store for women. They just didn’t exist. I think women love comics just as much as men do, maybe even more. And there’s so many great comics out there for everybody that I had to try. Isn’t San Francisco the city that’s all about just trying new things?” [San Francisco Chronicle]
- November 2, 2010 @ 08:26 AM by Kevin Melrose
Viz news #1: Viz releases iPad app
Manga publishers have been late to the digital media party, but that’s changing fast: Today Viz Media announced its own iPad app, making it the second publisher, after Yen Press, to go digital.
Viz is basically the American arm of a Japanese company — it is co-owned by the Japanese publishers Shueisha and Shogakukan and their licensing unit Shogakukan Productions — and publishes some of the best-selling manga in the U.S., including the monster seller Naruto, so this is a significant move.
The Viz app is proprietary, as opposed to the Marvel and DC apps, which are adaptations of Comics by comiXology, and it’s iPad-only — there is no iPhone version. The app is free, and Viz is offering a free download of the first volume of Death Note for a limited time.
After that, you’ll pay. The initial lineup for the app is the first two volumes of Bleach, Death Note, Dragon Ball, Naruto and One Piece, priced at $4.99 each. That’s a good deal compared to single-issue comics, but not so far off the original prices of the manga; list price at the Viz store is $7.95 for the first 45 volumes of Naruto (and $9.99 after that), so for early volumes you’re only getting a $3 discount for buying digital. And let’s face it, Viz has already covered its costs on volumes 1 and 2 of Naruto. However, the iPad app solves a significant problem for a series that runs over 45 volumes: shelf space. It’s not so easy to find a random volume of One Piece in the bookstore, but it’s always retrievable electronically.
- November 2, 2010 @ 07:00 AM by Brigid Alverson
Talking Comics with Tim | Kody Chamberlain
Later this month will see the release of Sweets 4, the second to last in the five-issue Image Comics miniseries written and illustrated by Kody Chamberlain. As Chamblerlain explained in a May 2010 interview with CBR: “Sweets is about a New Orleans homicide detective named Curt Delatte. He’s hunting a psychotic spree killer who’s terrorizing the city days before Hurricane Katrina makes landfall. This detective just buried his only daughter and he’s on the verge of divorce. He’s in bad shape. Everyone with a badge is trying to catch this killer and put an end to the slaughter, but the bodies just keep piling up. Curt has to pull himself together and join the hunt. He’s got no choice. It won’t be long until his city and his evidence get washed away - a true ticking time bomb scenario.” My thanks to Chamberlain for this new email interview where we delve into his approach to storytelling, color and character development as well as two of the best convention moments he’s ever had.
Tim O’Shea: You been working on this script for years, can you single out a phase of the script development where you felt like you got the story where you wanted it to be?
Kody Chamberlain: The time spent on the script was mostly a result of being a full-time artist. Creating artwork for comics is extremely time-consuming, especially since I usually ink and color my own work. So that means I have to steal time here and there for my writing and that slows down the process. I didn’t mean to imply I’ve been writing the script nonstop all this time, I’m not a full time writer, so that can’t happen. Writing Sweets was a slow process for me because I wanted it to be a solid script before I picked up my pencil, and that takes longer when you’re a full-time artist. But from the start, I committed to nailing down a solid script before drawing anything, and that’s taken a while.
- November 1, 2010 @ 03:00 PM by Tim O'Shea
Gabrielle Bell, Peeping Tom
from "Voyeurs" by Gabrielle Bell
If you remember Lucky cartoonist Gabrielle Bell’s San Diego Comic Con “comicumentary”, you already know she’s a master of depicting awkward social situations. Well, they don’t come much more awkward than “Voyeurs,” the latest strip Bell has posted to her website. In this one, a rooftop party full of people gets a strangely irresistible eyeful of an unwitting couple’s intimate activities in the building across the street. Like the events it’s about, “Voyeurs” is tough to look away from. Read the whole thing here.
- November 1, 2010 @ 02:30 PM by Sean T. Collins