2011 February
Dark Horse to publish Avatar: The Last Airbender comics
Although beans were spilled when this year’s Free Comic Book Day comics were announced, Dark Horse officially announced yesterday that it is collaborating with Nickelodeon to publish a series of comics and graphic novels based on the animated series Avatar: The Last Airbender. The series will launch with a 240-page graphic novel collecting the Avatar stories that ran in Nickelodeon Magazine as well as 70 pages of new material. The stories are set in the Airbender universe but outside the continuity of the series, and some of the creators also worked on the cartoon.
Dark Horse will follow up, starting in 2012, with a line of digest-sized graphic novels about the Airbender characters that will pick up where the animated series left off. It’s a logical program for Dark Horse, which has several lines based on popular movies and television series, and produced the Avatar: The Last Airbender art book, but it’s also interesting that the Avatar franchise seems to have moved away from Del Rey, which published a prequel to and a novelization of the movie last year.
The new series kicks off on Free Comic BOOK Day with a free comic featuring two stories, the unpublished “Relics” and the already-seen “Dirty Is Only Skin Deep…” The Airbender comic will be packaged as a flipbook with a Star Wars: The Clone Wars comic, giving readers plenty of licensed goodness in a single hit.
- February 10, 2011 @ 10:00 AM by Brigid Alverson
Where in the world is Gene Ha?
'Batman & Robin' #22 variant cover by Gene Ha
“Where in the world is Gene Ha?”
That’s what comic fans like me have been wondering the past year. Sure he’s been popping up as a cover artist on some big DC titles and rounding out the last issues of The Authority: Lost Year, but in terms of real, sink-your-teeth into it comics work it’s been a drought. But thankfully, Gene Ha has popped up to explain what’s going on.
In a blog post on his website, Ha explains that the his major creator-owned project Back Roads with Bill Willingham at IDW (announced back in 2009) has fallen apart due to the writer stopping to turn in scripts — just after Ha turned in the complete first issue – pencils, inks and colors. With the full story of Back Roads estimated to be 132 pages and no new script pages in a year, Ha’s pretty much said the project is dead.
Getting back into the swing of things, Ha has worked on those previously mentioned covers for DC, and he also did a Mouse Guard story with writer Lowell Francis. He’s also working on shorts for House of Mystery and the IDW Rocketeer miniseries. The most enticing bit of news is something else.
“I’ll be doing a few issues of an iconic DC character this summer, DC should announce details soon,” Ha revealed. “And finally, after all that, I’ve been working on something with James Robinson.”
Look for more on Gene Has’ website, but before you go — tell us your favorite Gene Ha work and what iconic character you’d like to see him work on!
- February 10, 2011 @ 09:00 AM by Chris Arrant
Comics A.M. | One Piece breaks another record, more on Diamond Digital
One Piece, Vol. 61
Publishing | The 61st volume of Eiichiro Oda’s insanely popular pirate manga One Piece sold more than 2 million copies in its first three days of release, according to the Japanese market-survey firm Oricon. It’s the fastest-selling book in the Oricon chart’s nearly three-year history, breaking the previous record set by the 60th volume of One Piece, which sold more than 2 million copies in four days. [Anime News Network]
Retailing | Heidi MacDonald talks to Dave Bowen, Diamond’s director of digital distribution, about the newly announced deal with iVerse Media that will allow retailers to sell digital comics in their stores: “The retailer will login using their Diamond retailer login and be presented with the opportunity to create store-specific, item-specific codes in whatever quantities they need. Then we’ll use some approved cryptographically secure method to generate random codes for the retailer to use. And we’ll format those in a PDF which they can then print out. Likely what will happen is, it’ll print easily on Avery 30-up laser labels. So what you have is a sheet of Avery laser labels with a bunch of different books and codes on individual labels. In that case the retailer takes that material and secures it and then when someone wants Transformers #16 they simply ring the sale and give the label or sticker or cut-out to the consumer. [...] It’s really very simple. Then the consumer that has that code, which is live, they could literally step out of the line, pull out their iphone or ipad or whatever other device and redeem the code and begin reading the material.” Meanwhile, Todd Allen dissects what he describes as “a particularly silly digital download scheme.” [The Beat, Indignant Online]
- February 10, 2011 @ 07:43 AM by Kevin Melrose
Could the next comics-to-film adaptation be Ross Campbell’s Shadoweyes?
Is it just me, or have comics become catnip for movie-makers? Well, this time the cat has gone outside the normal stomping grounds and found an unusual treat.
Wet Moon Cartoonist Ross Campbell posted on his DeviantArt blog that a film-making friend of his is working on a short film based on Campbell’s 2010 superhero graphic novel Shadoweyes. Filmmaker Bo Bradshaw has been a prolific short film producer, and just wrapped work on a feature-length documentary that was just shown on PBS called 759 Dresden. The comic adaptation of Campbell’s book is called Shadoweyes: Out of the Shadows, and on a website set up for the project Bradshaw outlines where they’re at in the production and the current openings to staff the short film production. Bradshaw hopes to crowd-source the funding of the project in something akin to Kickstarter. This live-action film is planned to be shot in and around Orlando, Fla where Bradshaw is based.
Campbell will be involved in the short film project, while also finishing work on the book’s sequel, Shadoweyes In Love.
- February 10, 2011 @ 06:00 AM by Chris Arrant
Gorillas Riding Dinosaurs | What Looks Good for March
Wulf #1
Time for another (belated) trip through Previews looking for good, new adventure comics.
AdHouse
Johnny Hiro, Volume 1 – I missed Johnny’s giant-lizard and ronin adventures when they came out in single issues. Don’t want to make that mistake with the collection.
Archaia
Cyclops – The scifi plot sounds interesting, but it’s the storytelling team behind The Killer that’s the real draw.
Ardden
Wulf #1 – I’ve never read any of the old Atlas Comics books, so I’m not really hooked by just that. I do like barbarian comics though and one of my favorites was that What If issue where Conan comes to the future, becomes a gang lord, and meets Captain America. Not that I’m expecting this to be exactly like that, but it reminds me of it. And it’s by Steve Niles and Nat Jones. I love it when those guys work together and can’t imagine a better concept for them than a gritty, barbarian-in-modern-New-York comic.
- February 9, 2011 @ 10:09 PM by Michael May
Diamond and iVerse bring digital comics to your LCS
Diamond Comics Distributors and iVerse media announced plans today to allow customers to purchase certain digital comics exclusively in their local comics shop on the same day the print editions are released.
That’s right: Digital comics that you buy in a store. Not the iTunes store, nor, apparently, through the store’s website. In. The. Store.
The special editions will sell for $1.99 for about 30 days after the release date, and customers also can buy a digital download for 99 cents with the purchase of a print comic. The digital comics are purchased via code redemption, although retailers who do have websites will be able to sell back issues that way.
Admittedly, this seems to be at odds with the current notion of digital comics, which involves downloading comics onto your computer, tablet, or phone from the comfort of your own home, but there is a certain logic to it. After all, who knows what the release date is for a new comic and cares enough to want to get it on that date? The Wednesday crowd, and they are heading to the comics shops anyway. Viewed from that point of view—What will please my regular customers?—it makes sense, as it adds some value to the trip to the store.
- February 9, 2011 @ 04:40 PM by Brigid Alverson
Artists remix the Perhapanauts with classic covers
Over on the Perhapanauts blog, writer Todd Dezago just wrapped up a “Classic Comics Cover Challenge,” where he asked various artists to redesign classic covers to include characters from the Image Comics series. The artists who participated chose some good ones, including Uncanny X-Men #141 and Amazing Spider-Man Annual #21, but my favorite has to be the one above, featuring Mike Wieringo’s cover to Fantastic Four #524, which was redrawn by Dezago’s half-brother Christian Leaf.
- February 9, 2011 @ 02:00 PM by JK Parkin
Build your own Scott Pilgrim T-shirt
Build your own Scott Pilgrim T-shirt
MightyFine T-shirts, makers of the Squirrel Girl and Rainbow Galactus T-shirts, among others, have updated their MyTee application that lets you build your own T-shirts. First up is a do-it-yourself Scott Pilgrim shirt in the style of a two-player fighting game that allows you to pick what characters you want to match up — Scott vs. Nega Scott, Ramona vs. Roxy, Knives vs. Gideon or whoever you’d like to see brawl for it all.
In addition, MODOK fans should check out the site as well … right now you can design your own MODOK shirt, which includes four different designs, but per MightyFine they’ll be launching something called a “MODOK maker” in full next month. Can’t wait.
- February 9, 2011 @ 01:00 PM by JK Parkin
Creator-Owned Spotlight #1 by Steve Niles
Editor’s Note: With the recent discussions going on around the comics community about creator-owned comics, we’re pleased to welcome one of the voices in those discussions, 30 Days of Night and Mystery Society creator Steve Niles, to Robot 6 for a series of columns on creator-owned comics. A big thanks to Steve for agreeing to do the column, as well as to artist Stephanie Buscema for creating a killer image for it.
by Steve Niles
Creator-Owned Spotlight
Hello everybody!
Welcome to the first installment of my new column, Creator-Owned Spotlight. I tried to think up an amusing title, but then decided to just settle on what it was: a spotlight on creator-owned comics, publishers and retailers who support the need for more creator-owned books.
I guess the first order of business is to define what I mean when I say “creator-owned comics.” I’m talking about ANY book where the creator has ANY ownership in their book. So basically, if you sign a work-for-hire agreement, you don’t generally have ownership. It doesn’t make those books bad, or the enemy, or anything like that. We’re just not talking about them here.
Why am I doing this? I’ve been called insane for wanting to promote my competitors’ work. All I have to say to that is: it isn’t a competition. And yes, I am crazy. I’ve drawn a line in the sand for myself to be positive. I hope you’ll try, too.
First up is such an obvious choice; I really don’t need to write much at all. His name is synonymous with creator-owned books, because he’s one of creator-owned comics’ greatest success stories. He’s also a friend and hero of mine.
- February 9, 2011 @ 12:00 PM by JK Parkin
More on the Image/Top Cow consolidation and Image’s marketing role
In January, Image Comics announced that it had reached an agreement with the largest studio under its umbrella, Top Cow, to assume the duties of marketing, production and sales. In this consolidation the central Image office took over the responsibilities of production, marketing and sales; editor Phil Smith, Sales/Marketing Director Atom! Freeman, and Publicity Manager Christine Dinh were all let go.
At the same time, the central Image office –- called aptly enough “Image Central” –- announced a change in its own marketing department, with 10-month hire Betsy Gomez heading out and Image Administrative Assistant Sarah deLaine taking the role of public relations and marketing coordinator. Although the initial reaction to this story has been minimal, further talk around the virtual water cooler among journalists, professionals and industry watchers see two things revealed in this – the downsizing of Top Cow’s office in order to maximize profits, but secondarily – and maybe more importantly – is the state of publicity and marketing for the third-largest comics publisher in America. As a journalist covering comics for Robot 6 and other outlets, I’m without a doubt more acutely aware of any changes in the publicity desk; they’re the point-of-contact for journalists big and small, from Comic Book Resources to USA Today. But I’m also aware from my own background working as a publicist and marketing professional outside the comics industry.
- February 9, 2011 @ 11:00 AM by Chris Arrant
Process: Colleen AF Venable on cover design
First Second produces some of the most beautifully designed graphic novels on the market today, and in this interview at Artist Abbreviated, designer Colleen AF Venable explains the cover design process from start to finish. It’s definitely a combination of inspiration and perspiration:
If you count of the number of thumbnails we did for those two books [Brain Camp and Kristyna's Ghost] it is over 40. Thumbnails are the most important stage. Without an awesome thumbnail, one that works even if seen at a single inch tall, your cover will never really shine. We then go to pencils and I obsess in that stage a bit more, eyes need to be exactly right (the thing that draws viewers in the quickest), proportions need to be perfect, space for logo should feel deliberate, not an afterthought. It can take months before we go from perfect thumbnail, to perfect pencil.
She also talks about her love of spot gloss and other special effects, her dream of someday designing a wordless cover, and the day she was discovered as a designer. There’s a nice gallery of images to go along with her discussion of the types of art she finds most compelling, so this is well worth a leisurely read.
- February 9, 2011 @ 10:00 AM by Brigid Alverson
“They killed her”: Joyce Farmer talks turkey about Special Exits
Joyce Farmer
Every time I read a new interview with or profile of Joyce Farmer, the underground comics trailblazer who recently returned to the forefront of the medium with her moving memoir Special Exits, I’m struck by how intense the creation of the book was. Josie Campbell’s report on Farmer’s in-store appearance at Los Feliz’s Skylights Books for CBR is no exception.
Even beyond the fact that Special Exits about the slow decline and death of her parents — brought on in part by a nursing home’s careless treatment of her step-mother, as referenced in the quote above; “You drop an eighty-six year old person three feet to a concrete floor, it’s going to end their life,” she says bluntly — the process of creating the book just seems to have been so demanding, almost punishing.
Farmer famously threw out the first thirty-five pages of the book and drew them all over again when she decided they weren’t up to snuff; she tells the audience at Skylights that “Every page has about thirty errors on it I fixed with white-out.” She goes on to say that the book’s creation basically swallowed her whole — “I had no private life, I had no public life, I didn’t read anything” — and necessitated eye surgery for macular degeneration upon its completion. All this in service of a 200-plus page book she figured she’d have to self-publish because no one else would want to. Thank goodness (and Fantagraphics), she was wrong: Special Exits was one of the most powerfully moving comics I read all last year, and I think it’ll move you too.
P.S.: Make sure to click the link — the story has a happy ending that nearly moved me to tears all over again.
- February 9, 2011 @ 09:30 AM by Sean T. Collins
Process: Dean Haspiel’s Perry White thumbnails
Over at his blog, Dean Haspiel shows off the thumbnails he drew for a 10-page Perry White story, “Old Men Drinking in Bars,” that’s included in Superman 80-Page Giant 2011. It’s fun to see how Dean plots out a story with his blocky, almost geometric figures and shifting points of view. Writer Neil Kleid explains a bit about the comic at his LJ, and he also discusses why we need more Perry White stories. Joe Infurnari was the colorist for this story, which makes for a pretty solid team.
- February 9, 2011 @ 09:00 AM by Brigid Alverson
Comics A.M. | Spider-Man producer fires back; more from Gareb Shamus
Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark
Broadway | Michael Coehl, lead producer of Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark, has responded to the thrashing the $65-million production received this week from some of the country’s top theater critics. The Julie Taymor-directed show, which finally opens on March 15, was labeled by The New York Times and The Washington post as one of the worst musicals in Broadway history. “Any of the people who review the show and say it has no redeeming value are just not legitimate reviewers, period,” Coehl told Entertainment Weekly. [PopWatch]
Publishing | Wizard World CEO Gareb Shamus gives another interview about the abrupt closing of Wizard and ToyFare magazines, his expanding stable of regional conventions, plans for a weekly online magazine, and the state of the industry: “The market’s changed. When I started 20 years ago, I was pioneering in the publishing world in terms of creating a product that got people excited about being involved in the comic book and toy and other markets, and we could do a lot of really cool and innovative things. Unfortunately right now being involved in the print world is very stifling, in terms of being able to leverage your content and your media and your access to the world out there.” Meanwhile, Tom Spurgeon and Martin Wisse comment on Shamus’ previous interview, which is pretty much the same as the new one. [ICv2.com]
- February 9, 2011 @ 08:20 AM by Kevin Melrose
The Middle Ground #41: History, Like Frampton
There came a point, when I was a kid in high school, when I realized that the problem wasn’t with history per se, but with the way it was being taught. History was full of all manner of things that it’s almost impossible to be bored by, but you wouldn’t have known that from the textbooks and the dry delivery of the teachers at the front of the room.
Why am I saying this now? Because I started reading Nick Bertozzi’s Lewis & Clark last night, and it’s just underlined how wonderful history can be, if done right. Continue Reading »
- February 8, 2011 @ 05:00 PM by Graeme McMillan