2011 January
What do women want? Part 2
Having looked at what women want in superhero comics, let’s examine their attitudes toward poop jokes.
Sean Michael Wilson, the editor of the alt-manga anthology AX, didn’t do a scientific survey, but he did read the reviews of his book and noticed something interesting:
However, one aspect has surprised both myself and Asakawa, the Japanese editor – quite a few female American reviewers have taken issue with the large amount of scatalogical toilet humour and also the sexual content of the collection. Somehow they seem to find it offensive, or unpleasant, or immature. It was surprising to me to see this kind of reaction, as it never occurred to me at all – as a British person – that these could be seen as negative.
It was surprising to me that Sean would find this surprising, but maybe that’s because I’m a female American comics reviewer, and I have always regarded potty humor as the purview of seven-year-old boys. I haven’t been to Scotland since I was six years old; now I’m beginning to wonder what I’m missing. Do sophisticated people there stand around at gallery openings sipping Cabernet and cracking fart jokes?
- January 6, 2011 @ 10:00 AM by Brigid Alverson
Store all your files in Batman’s oversized head
Mimoco, makers of branded flash drives, announced today at the 2011 International Consumer Electronics Show that they’ve picked up the license to make “Mimobots” based on DC superheroes. They’re starting with a limited edition “Vintage Batman” drive, available now, as shown in the video below:
Batman x MIMOBOT is here! from MIMOBOT & mimoZine on Vimeo.
- January 6, 2011 @ 09:36 AM by JK Parkin
What do women want? Part 1
This.
Not this.
Erica Friedman, who publishes and blogs about yuri manga (romances featuring two women), got so fed up recently with Marvel and DC acting puzzled about what women want that she designed her own survey. 424 women completed her questionnaire, and the results make interesting reading, especially the answers to the questions about what types of characters women like to see.
Overall, two-thirds of the women surveyed bought their own comics as children, rather than reading someone else’s, and the majority read superhero comics. They prefer strong, independent characters who fight for justice, they like women who have a dark side and can fight for themselves, and they would like to see more diversity.
The survey makes interesting companion reading to Hope Larson’s survey of the comics habits of teen and tween girls. In both cases, superheroes are the most popular genre, followed by manga (I know, manga isn’t a genre, but I didn’t write the questions). In both cases the characters were most important, although Hope teased out that the story is key as well. Both groups like a dark side to their comics.
Interestingly, the women who responded to Erica’s survey split 43/57 over whether their favorite characters were male or female, which is closer than I would have guessed, and their least favorite traits were “princely,” “chaste,” “weak,” and “damsel in distress.” The take-home here is that women already read superhero comics, and what they want isn’t really that complicated—more of the same, but better, with more strong characters, especially women who aren’t hypersexualized and helpless.
- January 6, 2011 @ 09:00 AM by Brigid Alverson
The Walking Dead, Scott Pilgrim maintain their grips on bookstores
The Walking Dead: Compendium One
The Walking Dead and Scott Pilgrim dominated graphic novel sales in bookstores in December, claiming nine of the Top 10 spots on the Nielsen BookScan chart.
Buoyed by the record-setting first season of the AMC television adaptation, zombie comic landed the top spot with The Walking Dead: Compendium One, the $60, 1,088-page collection of the first 48 issues of the Robert Kirkman-Tony Moore-Charlie Adlard series. Three volumes of The Walking Dead, including new editions of the first two collections, appeared in the Top 10, and five in the Top 15.
All six volumes of Bryan Lee O’Malley’s Scott Pilgrim made the Top 10, which could be attributed to the November release of Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World on DVD and Blu-ray — or a sign that the series is on its way to becoming a perennial bestseller.
Meanwhile, Superman: Earth One, the hardcover graphic novel whose blockbuster sales led J. Michael Straczynski to abandon the Superman and Wonder Woman monthly series so DC Comics could fast-track a sequel, plummeted from No. 1 on the chart to No. 15. The retail news and analysis site ICv2.com suggests the book may be a victim of availability — there may not be enough additional copies to replenish what’s been sold — rather than a decrease in interest. Indeed, Superman: Earth One is No. 5 after nine weeks on The New York Times hardcover graphic books list.
- January 6, 2011 @ 08:00 AM by Kevin Melrose
Fantagraphics sets fall debut for the Complete Pogo (‘for real this time’)
Pogo, by Walt Kelly: The Complete Syndicated Comic Strips, Vol. 1
One of the few certainties of comics blogging is that any reaction to news of a major archival collection from Fantagraphics Books — say, the Mickey Mouse strips of Floyd Gottfredson or, just this week, the complete Donald Duck stories of Carl Barks — will include a chorus of “I’m still waiting on Pogo.” That’s a reference, of course, to the planned 12-volume collection of The Complete Pogo Daily & Sunday Comics Strips by Walt Kelly, announced in February 2007. Although the series was set to debut in October of that year, to date no volumes have been released.
But the publisher promises that’s about to change. “[A] new year is upon and it’s time to ‘fess up about all the late Fantagraphics titles you were expecting to have by now, and don’t, because we suck,” Co-Publisher Kim Thompson writes on the company’s blog. “Specific apologia and weaseling have been added to some titles, others we just pass under mortified silence. 2011 will be better!”
He follows that admission with updates on some 22 titles, including the first volume of The Complete Pogo, which is now set for release this fall. “Yes, seriously, for real this time,” Thompson writes. He also previews the cover for that first collection, which you can see above.
- January 6, 2011 @ 06:42 AM by Kevin Melrose
Industry reactions to Marvel’s Axe-cellent news
Axel Alonso, by Skottie Young
The news broke yesterday that Axel Alonso will take over as editor-in-chief of Marvel Entertainment, following Joe Quesada’s shift in focus to Marvel’s multimedia initiatives. Here’s a few reactions over the last couple days from various folks around the industry:
Tom Spurgeon: “I don’t know Alonso at all, not even a little bit, but he strikes me as a comics-first guy in a period in comics history where Marvel as a publishing company could use every bit of close attention that comes with having a savvy, comics-first guy in that position. That’s not in any way implied commentary on Joe Quesada, I swear. I’m comparing Alonso to other people that might hold that position in this day and age, not to his predecessor. Quesada’s run would have to be termed a big success. Moreover, he leaves that historical position I believe still generally well-liked and certainly widely admired, which is sort of astonishing given the decisions that job calls for over time.”
Tom Brevoort: “This is Axel’s moment. He shouldn’t have to share the spotlight. He well deserves it.”
Jason Aaron: “My bold prediction: the Axel Alonso era at Marvel will be just as exciting and groundbreaking as the Joe Q one, only with more cursing.”
- January 5, 2011 @ 04:00 PM by JK Parkin
Gorillas Riding Dinosaurs | The Silver Age
Aquaman '64
Since this is a column about big-concept, adventure comics, I don’t know why it’s taken me this long to talk about the Silver Age, especially as DC did it. A lot of fans, myself included, point to DC’s Silver Age as something we want to see more of: angst-free characters facing bold concepts in stories that don’t take more than an issue or two to tell and don’t crossover into other series. A lot of older fans grew up at least at the tail end of the Silver Age, so we recall those comics as the kind we enjoyed when we were kids. And if we enjoyed them, then our kids might too. For that reason, the Silver Age sometimes becomes a rallying point for grown up fans who wish their children had good superhero comics to read. But, was it really everything we remember it as?
I’ve been going through DC’s Showcase Presents Aquaman volumes recently and just finished the second one, which takes me through the birth of Aquababy. The reason for this is that I’m fascinated by Aquaman’s reputation as a lame character. I’ve been trying to unravel it on my own blog for a while now and have found numerous examples of industry professionals who love Aquaman and defend his concept. By all rights, he should be an awesome character. So why does the world at large give him such a hard time? The only way to find out was to stop reading what other people think and visit his stories for myself. I don’t know that I’m any closer to my answer about Aquaman, but I have learned one important, broader lesson. The Silver Age kind of sucked.
It’s not just Aquaman’s solo series. I’ve been reading Silver Age Justice League stuff too as well as odd issues of World’s Finest and Brave and the Bold. And though I’m focusing on DC, this isn’t just their trouble. Try reading all the way through Essential Ant Man sometime. I dare you. The problems I have with Aquaman’s series apply to the early adventures of (Gi)Ant Man and the Wasp as well.
- January 5, 2011 @ 03:00 PM by Michael May
Spider-Man musical fills the seats, names new lead actress
Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark
With its planned Feb. 7 opening a little more than a month away, the beleaguered Broadway musical Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark began the new year with some impressive box-office receipts, a new lead actress, and a public-relations offensive:
• Despite — or, heck, maybe because of — the injuries, technical mishaps and delays, Spider-Man is the third highest-grossing show on Broadway, raking in $1.88 million during the week of the New Year’s holiday. It’s behind Wicked and The Lion King.
• Cast member T.V. Carpio was announced on Tuesday as the replacement for Natalie Mendoza in the lead role of the villainous Arachne. Mendoza left the production last week to continue her recovery from the concussion she suffered in November during the show’s problem-filled first preview. Carpio had played Miss Arrow, one of four members in the musical’s so-called Geek Chorus, had had portrayed Arachne in several previews last month.
• Christopher Tierney, the aerialist who suffered serious injuries in a fall during a Dec. 20 performance, told The New York Times that, “for a show that’s this technically complex, four injured performers is just not strange.” Lead producer Michael Cohl told Entertainment Weekly that the 31-year-old Tierney, who’s expected to take two to three months to heal, is welcome back to Spider-Man whenever he’s ready.
• Tierney appeared Tuesday on ABC’s Good Morning America with stars Reeve Carney, Jennifer Damiano and Patrick Page. You can watch video of the segment after the break.
- January 5, 2011 @ 12:00 PM by Kevin Melrose
Can Batman Beyond hook non-comics fans on digital comics?
DC Comics already has several series that go public in print and digital form on the same day, and today they announced that they are adding Batman Beyond to the mix.
It’s an interesting choice, because it looks to me like DC is banking on Batman Beyond reaching, um, beyond the regular readership. In fact, they say as much in the press release:
“Batman Beyond was a critically acclaimed, fan favorite animated series that still has a large number of fans to this day,” said Hank Kanalz, SVP Digital, DC Entertainment, “By releasing the ongoing comic series digitally, we’re hoping we reach that audience and bring back any fans of the show who may be lapsed comic readers.”
Apparently last year’s miniseries did pretty well; it is currently available at comiXology or the DC Comics Store for 99 cents for the first issue, $1.99 for the others.
This would seem to be a good opportunity to promote the comic outside the usual circles. As I have written before, it can be hard for non-regulars to find digital comics. This is an attractive product with a ready-made fanbase; the question is, can DC bring the two together?
- January 5, 2011 @ 11:00 AM by Brigid Alverson
Graphic.ly offers Mouse Guard: Winter 1152 #1 for free
Graphic.ly is a late entry to the iPad digital comics race, but they are doing their best to catch up. This week, they are offering the first issue of Mouse Guard: Winter 1152 for free, which is pretty sweet. It’s not a new comic — it came out in 2007 — but the single issues are hard to find now, and it’s a very nice read.
While it works a bit differently than comiXology and Comics+, Graphic.ly is an interesting choice if you’re interested in alternative comics. They carry Marvel and Archie, sure, but their publisher list also includes a lot of little-known indy and self-published comics. This makes for a lot of variation in quality, frankly, but there are also some gems: If you want to read Caryn A. Tate‘s Red Plains: Range War (illustrated by Noel Tuazon, the artist for Tumor and The Broadcast), it’s there for free. And Graphic.ly seems to be the only iPad app that carries comics by Archaia, the publisher of Mouse Guard and the Fraggle Rock comics. If you’re interested in the long tail of comics, Graphic.ly is not a bad place to start.
Like most comics apps, Graphic.ly is not restricted to the iPhone and iPad; they have versions available for Adobe Air and Windows 7. (I talked to CEO Micah Baldwin about the app last September.)
- January 5, 2011 @ 10:00 AM by Brigid Alverson
New TCAF site gives us something to look forward to
Here’s something to get you through the dark days of winter: The prospect of the Toronto Comics Arts Festival, which takes place on May 7 and 8 this year. I’m hoping to go, as Toronto seems to have an unusually large and productive comics community. In the meantime, enjoy their new website, with lots of links and information about their guests. The site promises 170 creators will be on hand, including Jillian Tamaki, who created the awesome poster above, Chester Brown, a creator called Mawil who I will confess is new to me (but I don’t feel too bad, as his site is in German), Kean Soo, Marian Churchland, Chris Eliopoulos, Dustin Harbin, and Eric Wight (who will be debuting his new Frankie Pickle book at the show). That’s a huge amount of talent in a small space, and it should be well worth the schlep.
- January 5, 2011 @ 09:00 AM by Brigid Alverson
Comics A.M. | B&N complicates Borders talks, Stan Lee gets his star
Borders
Retailing | As the financially troubled Borders Group met Tuesday with publishers in hopes of converting delayed payments into interest-bearing debt, the bookseller’s larger rival Barnes & Noble expressed concerns that could complicate negotiations. “We think the playing field should be even,” B&N spokeswoman Mary Ellen Keating said in a statement. “We expect publishers to offer same terms to all other booksellers, including Barnes & Noble and independent booksellers. We fully expect publisher’s will require Borders to pay their bills on the same basis upon which all other booksellers pay theirs. Any changes in publishers terms should be made available to all.” Meanwhile, Reuters considers what the closing of Borders’ 600 stores would mean to the book industry. [The New York Times, Publishers Weekly]
- January 5, 2011 @ 08:29 AM by Kevin Melrose
Food or Comics? | This week’s comics on a budget
Steel #1
Welcome to the first Food or Comics? for 2011. Every week we talk about what comics we’d buy on Wednesday based on certain spending limits — $15 and $30 — as well as what we’d get if we had extra money or a gift card to spend on what we call our “Splurge” item.
Check out Diamond’s release list for this week if you’d like to play along in our comments section.
Graeme McMillan
Hey, it’s the first week of 2011, and time to get some awesome comics, right? Right? So for my $15, I’ll pick up… Oh. Kind of a slow week, then, huh? Well, there’s always Steel #1 (DC, $2.99), the sure-to-be-controversial one-shot that launches the retro “Reign of Doomsday” crossover, and my love of James Robinson’s Justice League will ensure I pick up the Starman/Congorilla one-shot (DC, $2.99), if only to find out what all those interludes in the middle of the current “Omega” storyline are all about. Curiosity compels me to pick up Image’s Walking Dead Weekly #1 ($2.99), if only to see if it’s pretty much an exact reprint of the original first issue with a different cover, but that remaining $6 may just end up burning a hole in my pocket. Maybe I’ll put it toward my $30 haul…
- January 4, 2011 @ 04:00 PM by JK Parkin
The Middle Ground #36: What Would Walt Do?
There are times when I want to stop reading into things. After all, sometimes a cigar is just a cigar, as they say, and this is not a pipe and and and. But there’s something about comics that builds in a certain… I don’t know, distrust, about the stories that we get told about things, the official explanations; maybe it’s because we’re taught to believe in secret identities and ulterior motives and melodramatic plans that somehow come together much more than they would in real life. But anyway, back to my point. As I semi-asked on Twitter earlier today, what exactly does Disney think about comics?
- January 4, 2011 @ 03:00 PM by Graeme McMillan
Here’s what the multimillion-dollar Batman Live arena show will look like
A model of a set from "Batman Live"
The Telegraph provides the first glimpse of what the sets will look like for Batman Live, the big-budget arena show that kicks off this summer in the United Kingdom.
Officially announced in November, the multimillion-dollar production, which naturally draws comparisons to the troubled Broadway musical Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark, will pit Batman and Robin against such villains as the Joker, Catwoman, the Riddler, Penguin, Two-Face and Harley Quinn. But at the story’s core is Dick Grayson’s transformation from traumatized orphan to Boy Wonder, and how Batman relates to his new sidekick.
As you can see above and after the break, the newspaper has photos of models of a Joker hot-air balloon, the 100-feet by 60-feet performance area backed by a giant video screen, and the Flying Graysons circus set. (According to the article, “there will be an onstage disaster with a hot-air balloon and a Joker face whose eyes, teeth and hair are made up of dozens of dancers.”) The show also will recreate such Gotham City locations as Wayne Manor, the Batcave and Arkham Asylum.
Batman Live kicks off on July 20 in Manchester, then tours the U.K. through Oct. 8 before heading to Europe and then North America.
- January 4, 2011 @ 02:00 PM by Kevin Melrose