2010 December
We’ll take a cup of kindness yet
Batman: The Long Halloween #4
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And auld lang syne!
For auld lang syne, my dear,
For auld lang syne.
We’ll take a cup o’ kindness yet,
For auld lang syne.
We’ll be calling it quits here early today, what with it being New Year’s Eve and all, but don’t worry — we’ll be back soon. This Sunday marks our second anniversary, and like last year, CBR head honcho Jonah Weiland is handing over the keys to the Comic Book Resources home page. We’ve got a lot of cool stuff lined up for Sunday, including interviews and exclusive previews, so be sure to check back around 6 a.m. Pacific, then come back all day between football quarters and movie marathons!
Happy New Year, and we’ll see you again on Sunday!
- December 31, 2010 @ 12:00 PM by JK Parkin
The best of the best of the year lists
Acme Novelty Library #20
On this, the final day of 2010, we have one more roundup of best-of — and one worst-of — list from across the comics Internet:
• Comic Book Resources rolls out the 10 best comics of 2010, concluding its countdown of the Top 100.
• Johanna Draper Carlson names the 10 best graphic novels of 2010 — Raina Telgemeier’s Smile, and Evan Dorkin and Jill Thompson’s Beasts of Burden, among them — plus eight runners-up.
• Robot 6 contributor Sean T. Collins’ list of the 20 best comics of the year includes Jacques Tardi’s It Was the War of the Trenches, Grant Morrison’s Batman comics, and Chris Wares’ Acme Novelty Library #20.
• Darwyn Cooke’s Parker: The Outfit and Jason’s Werewolves of Montpellier make The Casual Optimist’s list of favorite new books of 2010.
• Jim Rugg and Brian Marcua’s Afrodisiac and Neal Adams’ Batman: Odyssey are among Matt Seneca’s Top 10 comics.
• Dave Ferraro picks the Top 20 comics of the year, including Kou Yaginuma’s Twin Spica, Jeff Parker and Steve Lieber’s Underground, and Linda Medley’s Castle Waiting, Vol. 2.
• Derek A. Badman selects the best webcomics and the best print comics of 2010.
• Comics Alliance names the five worst comics of 2010.
• At Inside Pulse, Grey Scherl looks at the Top 10 things DC Comics did right in 2010.
- December 31, 2010 @ 11:00 AM by Kevin Melrose
Ten tips for would-be webcomickers
A panel from Lumia's Kingdom
If your new year’s resolution is “Start that webcomic,” stop by All About Manga today and read Tamar Curry’s tips for beginners. (Despite the name of the blog, this post does not refer solely to manga.)
Curry speaks from experience: He writes and draws the fantasy webcomic Lumia’s Kingdom, and his previous credits include Blue Zombie and Silent Journey. He has been making webcomics since 2002, so he has probably learned some of these lessons the hard way.
While it’s true that anyone with a computer and a bit of enthusiasm can start a webcomic, it’s also true that the vast majority of webcomics are poorly drawn, languish in obscurity, or are abandoned after a few episodes. Curry offers solid, nuts-and-bolts advice to help creators avoid that Bermuda Triangle of awfulness, from the creative (draw as often as you can — and remember that consistency is more important than intricacy in the long run) to the logistical (know your hosting service — and have a backup plan in case something happens to them). And his advice about web design (make it easy for readers to find your comic, and don’t load up your site with animation and music) should be engraved on the entrance to the internet.
- December 31, 2010 @ 10:00 AM by Brigid Alverson
Taking a closer look at Marvel’s latest day-and-date moves
Marvel announced this week that starting in February, the comics carrying the “Death of Spider-Man” arc will be available digitally via the Marvel app for the iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch on the same day they are released in print. The specific issues are Ultimate Comics Spider-Man #153 and 154 and Ultimate Avengers vs. New Ultimates #1.
Marvel got the day-and-date train rolling in October, releasing Ultimate Comics Thor #1 in print and digital on the same day, and on January 5, Ultimate Comics Captain America #1 will follow suit. According to ICv2, Ultimate Comics Thor #1 sold almost 50,000 copies in the direct market, although that number dropped to just under 32,000 for issue 2.
If Marvel is trying to protect the direct market, it’s certainly going about it the right way. Continue Reading »
- December 31, 2010 @ 09:00 AM by Brigid Alverson
Borders halts payments to some publishers
Borders
The troubled Borders Group, the second-largest bookstore chain in the United States, announced Thursday it’s delaying payments to some publishers as it attempts to restructure its credit lines. The news sent shares tumbling 11 percent.
“As part of this potential refinancing, Borders has determined that it is necessary to restructure its vendor financing arrangements and is delaying payments to certain of its vendors,” company spokeswoman Mary Davis told Reuters. Although she declined to provide the names of the publishers, she said Borders was working with them to restructure their arrangements with the chain.
The Ann Arbor, Mich.-based bookseller reported earlier this month that an inability to secure adequate financing could result in a “liquidity shortfall” in early 2011, meaning the chain would run out of cash to conduct day-to-day business.
- December 31, 2010 @ 07:43 AM by Kevin Melrose
Creating Special Exits kicked Joyce Farmer’s ass
At least that’s my takeaway from Alex Dueben’s excellent interview with Farmer for Comic Book Resources — and given the book’s extremely intimate subject matter of the cartoonist caring for her aging parents as their health declined leading up to their deaths, I’m not surprised.
CBR News: What was it like putting together a graphic novel for the first time? You’ve made many comics in the past, but a project this large is something else.
Joyce Farmer: First of all, I didn’t know what I was getting into. Second, I didn’t really know how to write something like this. I don’t consider myself a writer. It was overwhelming, and because it was overwhelming, it took me thirteen years. I would work and get to a certain point and then get overwhelmed both by the problem of putting my parents on paper and by the problem of a book. Then I wouldn’t work for as much as a year and then I’d beat myself up that I’d figured out this wonderful book and should get going before somebody else thought of it or it wouldn’t be of interest. Because the book is set in a certain number of years, named years in the book, I couldn’t let it go on forever, although I nearly did.
It was overwhelming. I think these younger people who do graphic memoirs seem to use a lot of paper and ink to say very little and it takes them quite awhile [to say it]. I’m not saying what they say is not worthwhile, I’m just saying that they’re not as condensed as I intended to be. It was way more work than I ever thought. Every time I’d get the book to a certain point, like the first drawing, somebody would suggest something that would be so obviously needed, I would have to go through the whole book and fix it. Then later when I’m inking, the same type of thing happened.
The first thirty-five pages I threw away after they were inked. I started completely over.
Dang. Special Exits ranked #29 on CBR’s countdown of the Top 100 Comics of 2010, and as I said in my write-up, it made me cry. Please do check it out, and read the whole interview, too.
- December 30, 2010 @ 04:30 PM by Sean T. Collins
Grumpy Old Fan | Wait ‘til next year
Rise Of Arsenal #4
Last week, being full of Christmas cheer made me look back on DC’s 2010 a little more fondly than I might have otherwise.
While I take none of that back — goodwill is never truly wasted — this week isn’t Christmas, and I’m remembering some of the more awkward moments from the year about to pass. After all, 2010 had its share of shock-value deaths and ill-advised changes in direction, and today I want to talk about the biggest ones.
* * *
Probably DC’s most reviled comics of 2010 were the JLA miniseries Cry For Justice and its followup, Rise Of Arsenal. Admittedly, it’s hard for me to talk about Rise because I didn’t read the series itself, just the Justice League issue which tied into it. However, the Internet covered the miniseries’ excesses so thoroughly I feel like I’ve already read it — or at least gotten the experience of reading it.
- December 30, 2010 @ 01:45 PM by Tom Bondurant
Your (second) video of the day | J. Scott Campbell talks about … everything
Bobby Chiu hosts a nearly hour-long discussion with veteran artist J. Scott Campbell covering his process, his childhood, his early career, his influences, selling original art, and much more.
- December 30, 2010 @ 12:30 PM by Kevin Melrose
Tons of Tintin drawings at Neon Monster
Tintin by Brandon Graham
Our friend Joe Keatinge spent part of his holiday season gathering images of Tintin from various artists for Neon Monster; you can see the galleries here and here. In addition, Keatinge sat down with King City creator Brandon Graham (who drew the above piece) for a conversation about the character. You can check it out here.
- December 30, 2010 @ 11:30 AM by JK Parkin
The best of the best of the year lists
Batwoman: Elegy
Another day closer to 2011, another volley of best-of-2010 lists:
• Entertainment Weekly‘s Ken Tucker includes Darwyn Cooke’s Parker: The Outfit, Joyce Farmer’s Special Exits and Greg Rucka and J.H. Williams’ Batwoman: Elegy on his list of the 10 best graphic novels and comics of 2010.
• MTV Geek rounds up a cross-section of comics creators, from Camilla d’Errico and Michel Fiffe to Paul Grist and Joe Eisma, to name their top three comics of the year.
• Comic Book Resources approaches the Top 25 in its rundown of the Top 100 comics of the year: #100-#76, #75-#51, #50-#26.
• Comics Alliance concludes its countdown of the best comics of 2010 with Adam Hines’ Duncan the Wonder Dog.
• In The Oklahoman, writer and retailer Matt Price names the 10 best graphic novels of the year, a list topped by Darwyn Cooke’s Parker: The Oufit and Bryan Lee O’Malley’s Scott Pilgrim, Vol. 6.
• Writing for Las Vegas Weekly, J. Caleb Mozzocco selects his top five comics of 2010: Lynda Barry’s Picture This, Pablo Holmberg’s Eden, Cathy Malkasian’s Temperance, Julia Gfrörer’s Flesh and Bone, and Jason’s Werewolves of Montpellier.
• At Savage Critics, Graeme McMillan names Justice League of America as his 2010 guilty pleasure.
• At Inside Pulse, Grey Scherl lists the Top 10 this Marvel did right in 2010.
- December 30, 2010 @ 10:30 AM by Kevin Melrose
Your (first) video of the day | Ben McCool and Nikki Cook talk Memoir
In this nicely produced video, part of WPB Labs’ RADAR series, collaborators Ben McCool and Nikki Cook discuss the creation of Memoir, their upcoming sci-fi thriller from Image Comics about an entire town with no memory. McCool spoke with Comic Book Resources about the miniseries just last week. Memoir #1 arrives in stores on Jan. 19.
- December 30, 2010 @ 09:27 AM by Kevin Melrose
Comics A.M. | Dilbert moves syndicates, Brenda Starr counts down final days
Dilbert
Comic strips | Scott Adams’ Dilbert is moving to Universal UClick after two decades with United Feature Syndicate. The news doesn’t come as a big surprise, as it was announced more than three months ago that Peanuts would make the same move in February. Both properties are represented by Peanuts Worldwide. UClick will begin management of Dilbert.com on Saturday, with print syndication to follow in the summer. Dilbert will join a lineup at the syndicate that includes Doonesbury, Calvin and Hobbes, Garfield and Ziggy. [press release]
Comic strips | Writer Mary Schmich and artist June Brigman discuss the end of Brenda Starr, whose final strip runs on Sunday. “(Brenda) is a continuity strip, like a soap opera. Those have been dropping like flies,” Brigman says. “It is amazing she has lasted. It’s not a laugh-a-day strip. It requires some effort, like reading the paper every day.” [Boston Herald]
Retailing | Gendy Alimurung chronicles the final days of the Borders Books and Music location is Los Angeles’ Westwood neighborhood: “The protracted demise is helping [12-year employee Camilla] Ostrin gradually acclimate to her new reality, at least. Empty bookshelves are the saddest part. She’s used to seeing them full. Customers likely would agree; they don’t seem to understand that the store isn’t being restocked, that the new Obama calendars aren’t coming in, or that once the Paperchase journals are gone, they’re gone.” [LA Weekly]
- December 30, 2010 @ 08:24 AM by Kevin Melrose
Gorillas Riding Dinosaurs | X’ed Out
X'ed Out
X’ed Out
Written and Illustrated by Charles Burns
Pantheon; $19.95
Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in.
I’m sure I’ve used that quote before when talking about serialized comics. One nice thing about trade-waiting is that you tend to get complete stories and I’ve grown used to that. And like being used to it. To the point that when Pantheon sent me a copy of Charles Burns’ X’ed Out, I didn’t read it right away because I knew it was only the first chapter in a continuing saga. The instinct to hold off until it was done kicked in right away and I put it on my shelf unread. And then all the accolades started pouring out of my computer screen.
When Chris Mautner told me it was his favorite comic of the year, I finally caved. Chris and I don’t have exactly the same tastes, but they cross over enough that when I realized I had his #1 pick for 2010 just sitting there unread – and it’s pretty short – I figured I’d end the year with it. What could it hurt?
Little did I know. The bastards.
- December 29, 2010 @ 04:07 PM by Michael May
The best of the best of the year lists
Set to Sea
With just a few days remaining in 2010, the best-of-the-year lists are springing up like mushrooms after the rain. Here’s just a selection of what’s appeared this week:
• NPR’s Glen Weldon recalls the comics “that got their hooks into me this year,” including James Sturm’s Market Day, Drew Weing’s Set to Sea, Roger Langridge and Chris Samnee’s Thor: The Mighty Avenger, and Moto Hagio’s A Drunken Dream.
• Deb Aoki surveys more than two dozen year-end lists to arrive at the critics’ choice for the best manga of 2010.
• At comiXology, Tucker Stone names the 20 best comics of the year, including Jim Rugg and Brian Maruca’s Afrodisiac, Grant Morrison and Frazier Irving’s Batman and Robin #13, and Naoki Urasawa’s Pluto, Vol. 7.
• Johanna Draper Carlson selects the best manga of 2010, divided into categories like best new manga, best continuing manga and best completed manga.
• Writing for Wired’s Underwire blog, Lore Sjöberg spotlights the year’s best new webcomics.
• Writing for Jezebel, Kelly Thompson concludes her countdown of the 20 best female creators of 2010, with the Top 10 occupied by the likes of Amanda Conner, Faith Erin Hicks, Becky Cloonan and Kate Beaton.
• At Topless Robot, Jay Barish names the five best and five worst comics of the year.
- December 29, 2010 @ 01:30 PM by Kevin Melrose
Amy Mebberson’s cuteness overload
Amy Mebberson keeps pretty busy drawing Muppet and Pixar comics for Boom! Studios, and she also has done covers for their standard Disney characters line. So how does she relax after a hard day churning out the cuteness? By turning the dial to 11 and sketching super-cute versions of Barbie and comics characters. Amy has just set up a new blog, Fun Size, to collect her sketchcards and other incidental drawings of cute, rounded, smiling characters. For her everyday sketches, including the sketch covers she did for the Muppet comics at cons this year, check out her other art blog, My Blue Sky.
- December 29, 2010 @ 12:30 PM by Brigid Alverson