Robot 6
Comics A.M. | Borders to close Tenn. center, Muppets/Pixar titles canceled
Borders Group headquarters
Retailing | The picture keeps looking worse for Borders Group: Even as news surfaced Wednesday that Diamond Book Distributors has stopped shipping to the troubled retail chain a report circulated that Borders will close its LaVergne, Tenn., distribution center in mid-July, resulting in the elimination of 310 jobs. That follows more than 200 layoffs made at the center since 2009. [WKRN.com, via GalleyCat]
Publishing | The remaining licensed Muppets and Pixar titles from BOOM! Studios have been listed as “canceled by Previews.” In response to inquiries, the publisher pointed to the teaser for “BOOM! Kids 2.0,” the relaunch of its kids imprint announced in September. Rumors that BOOM! had lost the Muppets/Pixar licenses began swirling in late November, following Roger Langridge’s announcement that he would no longer be drawing The Muppet Show. The publisher’s relaunched kids line will include such Disney licenses as Darkwing Duck, and reprints of Mickey Mouse, Uncle Scrooge and Walt Disney’s Comics and Stories. [Comics Worth Reading]
Diamond Comic Distributors
Retailing | In the first week of Tuesday delivery to the direct market, reports have emerged of suspected mystery shoppers sent by Diamond Comic Distributors to ensure stores adhere to the on-sale dates. [Bleeding Cool]
Conventions | Priority registration for Comic-Con International is open to returning professionals. Registration for first-time professional applicants opens on Feb. 28. Convention organizers also are soliciting contributions to the 2011 souvenir book. [Comic-Con International]
Conventions | Stumptown Comics Fest has opened submissions for the 2011 Stumptown Comic Arts Awards. [Stumptown Comics Fest]
Conventions | Retailer and convention organizer Jim Burleson talks about this weekend’s Albuquerque Comic Con. [Weekly Alibi]
Retailing | The Duquesne University Barnes & Noble location has cuts its graphic novel and computer-book sections to make more space for Duquesne women’s clothing. It also condense its children’s, young adult and travel sections. [The Duquesne Duke]
Retailing | Leslie Westbrook briefly profiles Acadiana Comics and Collectibles in Lafayette, Louisiana. [The Advertiser]
The Sixth Gun, Vol. 1
Creators | Collaborators Cullen Bunn and Brian Hurtt chat about their Oni Press series The Sixth Gunn. “If you’re a reader who has a hankering for zombies, it’s definitely got more action than some zombie comics,” Bunn says. “The Sixth Gun gets miscast as a horror story a lot, but it’s a fantasy.” [Time Out Chicago]
Creators | Collaborators Nick Spencer and Christian Ward discuss their new Image Comics miniseries The Infinite Vacation. [USA Today]
Digital comics | A Dubai newspaper spotlights the growth of digital comics. [Gulf News]
7 Comments
Marc C
January 13, 2011 at 9:24 am
Ahhh, Disney/Marvel want the Frog.
Jason
January 13, 2011 at 9:33 am
Ooooo! Can’t wait to get to the LCS for the 6th Gun trade – I’ve held off reading all this time, but it looks great!
Torsten Adair
January 13, 2011 at 10:18 am
I don’t think they lost the license… I think the sales were not enough to pay the cost of producing ORIGINAL Disney material.
My limited understanding is that once a Disney comic is published, other licensees do not pay any fees to the original creators or publishers to reprint the work. (Although, INDUCKS does not seem to list any foreign editions of the BOOM/Pixar comics.)
Meanwhile, BOOM! continues to publish classic Disney work, as seen in the upcoming Don Rosa collections and the Walt Disney Comics & Stories Archive volumes.
Snikt snakt
January 13, 2011 at 12:02 pm
Why doesn’t Disney just have Marvel (y’know, the comic book company they paid BILLIONS for) produce those comics for them?!?
demoncat
January 13, 2011 at 1:04 pm
because Disney is not in the comic business and having Marvel produce their stuff as part of them would to the other companies look like a monopoly. though surprise boom may not do the muppets comic any more for they did the muppets the way they should be done in comic form. fans just have to wait and see the fate of the muppets and pixar in comic form.
TigerWrap
January 14, 2011 at 12:16 pm
As long as Darkwing Duck and Rescue Rangers are “alive”, it’s all OK by me! I wish they would mkae a Talespin title though. I hope this news doesn’t mean they’re in bad shape or bad relationship with Disney.
Jolly Holly
January 15, 2011 at 1:36 pm
The Muppet title sucked anyway. But then nowadays, the actual Muppets do too.