2011 February
Inside the Digital Manga Guild
Late last year, the manga publisher Digital Manga Publishing announced a new initiative: The Digital Manga Guild. Basically, this is an attempt to make the scanlation model work legally: Volunteer teams would translate books into English (and other languages) and edit them, with the permission of the publishers and creators. Digital would publish the books online and readers would pay a small fee to read them; no one gets paid up front, but everyone gets a cut of the sales.
The proposal was initially met with both enthusiasm from fans who want to see more manga translated and skepticism from existing scanlators who were concerned it was just a big sting to get them to reveal their identities—and become vulnerable to legal action. Those initial fears seem to have been allayed, and a number of teams have signed up. Among them is blogger Melinda Beasi, who will be reporting on the process from the inside, with permission from Digital.
Melinda has already cleared the first few hurdles: She successfully pre-registered and passed the editor’s test. Now she has to find partners, because Digital only works with three-person teams consisting of an editor, a translator, and a typesetter. The problem is, there are plenty of editors but not so many people with enough skills for the other two jobs who are willing to work for free. There’s a matchmaking thread at the Digital Manga Guild forums, however, and it looks like Melinda may have found her partners there.
Melinda is donating all her fees to the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, so she’s only in it for the experience. Most scanlators work for free, just for the love of the manga, but they also often have a lot of free time, and many are students who drop out of the scene once they are out of college. So there are two questions here: Will people who have done it as a hobby be happy doing it as a job, and will people who are essentially working for free be able to make the same commitment as a professional translator, editor, or typesetter. It will certainly be interesting to see how this works from the inside, and as our digital Nellie Bly, Melinda will certainly report on both the highs and the lows of this experience.
- February 2, 2011 @ 10:00 AM by Brigid Alverson
Comics on the cheap: Reading DVDs on the iPad
Archie on DVD
There was a time, maybe 10 years ago, when comics on DVD were the New Big Thing. A DVD holds a lot of comics in a fairly small space, and you can read the comics conveniently on your computer screen without having all those longboxes cluttering up the place.
Then thumb drives came along, and The Cloud, and streaming this and that, and DVDs started looking sort of dowdy and oversized and old-fashioned. Also, for some reason a lot of people hate reading comics on a computer screen. So, as Johanna Draper Carlson pointed out recently, you can get some comics DVDs really cheap via Amazon. And, as another blogger pointed out, you can bypass the clunky DVDs pretty quickly and read the comics on your iPad.
Really?
Yes, really. I did this. It was cheap, easy, and required no technical knowhow whatsoever.
First I went on Amazon and snapped up a bunch of these DVDs, some of which were seriously marked down. For under $25, I got about 1,000 comics. Here’s my list:
- February 2, 2011 @ 09:00 AM by Brigid Alverson
Comics A.M. | Borders bankruptcy looms; ‘Mystery Men’ trademark issues?
Borders
Retailing | Citing unnamed sources, Bloomberg reports that Borders Group may file for bankruptcy protection as early as next week. Additionally the struggling book chain, the second-largest in the United States, will likely close at least 150 of its 500 remaining namesake stores. Company stock plunged in the wake of the news. A Borders spokeswoman declined comment, but referred to a Jan. 27 statement from President Mike Edwards in which he raised “the possibility of an in-court restructuring.” [Bloomberg]
Legal | Rich Johnston and retailer news and analysis site ICv2 look at potential trademark issues surrounding Marvel’s “Who Are the Mystery Men?” They note that cartoonist Bob Burden owns the trademark to the one-word “Mysterymen,” while Dark Horse and Universal Pictures control the two-word “Mystery Men” — both relating to the characters created by Burden and the 1999 movie adaptation. Dynamite Entertainment also has laid claim to “Super-Mysterymen” for its Project Superpowers series. “I have not heard from Universal yet, but I’m sure Universal will proceed in an orderly and propitious manner,” Burden said. [Bleeding Cool, ICv2.com]
- February 2, 2011 @ 07:43 AM by Kevin Melrose
The Middle Ground #40: So Kick Off Your Shoes, And Feel Some Kind of Free
I’m having one of those weeks where comics just make me happy.
Sure, there’s a lot to be cynical about: 15 mini-series to tie in with Flashpoint, for example, or Marvel apparently trying to trademark a name that’s already been used by two other publishers, but they can’t break my comic-loving heart, as much as they may try. No, this is a week where everything is coming up roses, and it’s all because of two new series – unusually for me, both online. Continue Reading »
- February 1, 2011 @ 06:00 PM by Graeme McMillan
Food or Comics? | This week’s comics on a budget
Witchfinder: Lost and Gone Forever
Welcome to Food or Comics?, where 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 or ComicList if you’d like to play along in our comments section.
Michael May
If I had $15:
I’d start with Witchfinder: Lost and Gone Forever #1 ($2.99). I love weird western tales and can’t imagine a better creative team for one than the writers of BPRD and artist John Severin, who illustrated so many of Atlas’ classic westerns. Then I’d grab The Muppet Show, Volume 5: Muppet Mash ($9.99) because hey, Roger Langridge, Muppets and classic monsters.
If I had $30:
I’d add a couple of Big Two all-ages comics to the pile. If Marvel’s Super Hero Squad Spectacular #1 ($3.99) is half as fun as the show it’s based on, it’ll be worth taking home and reading to the boy. I’ll just have to keep ignoring the irritating, unnecessarily three-fingered character designs. I’m even more confident that we’ll enjoy DC’s Super Friends, Volume 4: Mystery in Space ($12.99) because we’ve been so delighted with the first three collections. David just turned nine and by way of celebration, he wanted to go back and re-read the Superman’s Birthday story from volume two.
- February 1, 2011 @ 04:26 PM by JK Parkin
Marvel’s Taco Bell comics sport beefy creative teams
Uncanny X-Men First Class #5
Apparently at Taco Bell you don’t have to decide between food or comics (insert your own beefy lawsuit joke here). The fast food chain has teamed up with Marvel to provide four different comics with its kids meals.
According to Marvel, each book includes an 11-page story with a one-page Mini-Marvels backup story. Each cover is a reprint from an existing Marvel title. Looking at who’s doing the comics, it may be worth a run to the border; I’d brave a burrito for the team behind Atomic Robo‘s take on Iron Man vs. MODOK alone. (Speaking of which, colorist Chad Fidler posted some pages from the Iron Man comic online).
Here are the details:
X-Men
11-page story:
· Writer: Alex Zalben
· Artist: Tom Grummett
1-page backup by Colleen Coover
Cover by Roger Cruz, a reprint from Uncanny X-Men First Class #5
- February 1, 2011 @ 03:00 PM by JK Parkin
Hans Rickheit unveils his Folly
His webcomic Ectopiary has been earning rave reviews around the Internet, his graphic novel The Squirrel Machine appeared was best-of-the-year material in 2009, and his debut comic Chloe won a Xeric Grant. But creepy cartoonist Hans Rickheit’s next big project is a Folly. That’s the title of his forthcoming Fantagraphics collection, comprising the best material from his sometimes ugly, sometimes erotic, often astonishing minicomics series Chrome Fetus. Rubble, tubes, orifices, human-animal hybrids, rooms within rooms, and strangely discomfiting partial nudity will no doubt abound. Folly hits this Fall.
- February 1, 2011 @ 02:00 PM by Sean T. Collins
Gabrielle Bell’s bedbug battle concludes
A couple weeks ago we linked you to “Nocturnal Guests,” Lucky cartoonist Gabrielle Bell’s comical chronicle of her on-again off-again struggle to rid her apartment of multiple bedbug infestations. Today she’s posted the final chapter, and it’s a dreamy, DDT-laced doozy.
Bell says that from here on out, she’ll be posting comics biweekly rather than weekly, but they’ll be twice as long. We’ll be tuning in.
- February 1, 2011 @ 01:00 PM by Sean T. Collins
Altcomix Assemble!
Wow: Cold Heat cartoonist and Comics Comics blogger Frank Santoro went to Los Angeles, and all he got was this wondrous photo of him and a gaggle of the greatest alternative comics creators on the West Coast. From left to right, you’re looking at Johnny Ryan (Prison Pit, Angry Youth Comix), Jaime Hernandez (Love and Rockets), Ron Regé Jr. (Yeast Hoist, Against Pain), Jordan Crane (Uptight, What Things Do), Sammy Harkham (Crickets, Kramers Ergot), and Santoro. I haven’t seen this kind of star power packed into one picture since Crumb, Ware, Clowes, Tomine, and Buenaventura straddled the cliffs of France like comic-book colossi.
- February 1, 2011 @ 12:30 PM by Sean T. Collins
Start reading now: Jeff Parker and Erika Moen’s Bucko
Welcome to Bucko!
Bucko, a free webcomic written by Jeff Parker and illustrated by Erika Moen, launches today with a three-page intro in which Rich, the main character, wakes up on a strange couch and realizes he’s going to be late for a much-needed job interview. Murphy’s Law comes into full play from the get-go. The comic has a strong dose of humor, but the intro promises a body and a mystery, so come for the yuks, stay for the whodunit. And with this team on it, you can’t lose.
(Via Jamie S. Rich.)
- February 1, 2011 @ 12:00 PM by Brigid Alverson
Everything you always wanted to know about Daniel Clowes but were afraid to ask
Yeoman’s work from Ken Parille: The comics scholar and critic today celebrates the 10th anniversary of his Daniel Clowes Bibliography, a ridonkulously extensive run-down of virtually every comic, book, short story, illustration, art exhibition, and more to which the Eightball/Ghost World/Ice Haven/Mister Wonderful/Wilson/The Death-Ray cartoonist has ever contributed. From a list of every story from Eightball to a comprehensive collection of links to interviews with and articles about Clowes, it truly needs to be seen to be believed — definitely a helluva resource for anyone interested in the career of one of comics’ finest.
- February 1, 2011 @ 11:30 AM by Sean T. Collins
ACT-I-VATE celebrates fifth birthday with new horror anthology
Everywhere
The webcomics collective ACT-I-VATE celebrates its fifth birthday today — congrats, guys! — by launching a new “tongue-in-cheek” horror comics anthology called Everywhere. The strip, created and written by Chris Miskiewicz, will feature artwork by Dennis Calero, Rodney Ramos, Bobby Timony, Nathan Schreiber, Seth Kushner and many more. The first strip, “Horses Everywhere,” is up now and features artwork by Andrew Wendel.
“Five years ago, eight independent cartoonists allied and presented personal signature works, online for free, and ACT-I-VATE was born,” said Dean Haspiel, creator of Billy Dogma and co-founder of ACT-I-VATE, in a press release. “Five years later, ACT-I-VATE expanded its roster, created a PRIMER graphic novel, and helped confirm publishing options between print and web. A bold example of how a curated destination point for new stories and ideas can sustain, ACT-I-VATE continues to break ground as the industry transitions to the Digital Age.”
- February 1, 2011 @ 11:00 AM by JK Parkin
Apple policy may set up a roadblock for digital comics [UPDATED]
Where is Dark Horse Digital?
Back in October, at New York Comic Con, Dark Horse announced an ambitious new digital comics program that would make many of their most popular titles available, at a discount, on a number of different platforms. At the time, they said the program would launch in January 2011 with about 150 titles.
Last week, Dark Horse posted an update on their digital comics page, saying that “factors beyond our control have impacted our plans.”
While there could be many different reasons for the delay, recent developments suggest that Dark Horse’s decision to allow readers to buy comics through their own digital storefront may have fallen afoul of Apple’s prohibition on in-app purchases outside the iTunes store. UPDATE: Apple clarified today that this is not a new rule but simply stricter enforcement of existing policy. See below for more details.
- February 1, 2011 @ 10:00 AM by Brigid Alverson
Natsume Ono to appear at TCAF
Here’s yet another reason to go to Toronto in May: Manga creator Natsume Ono will be a special guest at this year’s Toronto Comic Arts Festival.
Ono creates beautiful, moody manga for adults, as far as you can get from the boobs-and-battles stories that dominate the medium in this country; you can read several chapters of her tale of a skilled but shy swordsman, House of Five Leaves, and the first chapter of the modern drama not simple at Viz’s SigIKKI website. Viz has also published Ono’s Ristorante Paradiso, the story of a woman who goes to work at her mother’s restaurant, seeking revenge for being abandoned as a child, and instead falls in love with the staff of charming, bespectacled men, and the sequel, Gente.
Ono, who is making her first appearance in North America, joins a stellar lineup that includes Chris Ware, Jillian Tamaki, Mawil, and Adrian Tomine, and organizer Christopher Butcher thinks she will be a good fit, noting, “fantastic work fits squarely into the ‘art comix’ idiom that’s at the core of the Festival.”
- February 1, 2011 @ 09:00 AM by Brigid Alverson
Comics A.M. | Spiegelman talks Grand Prix, Stephenson talks industry
Art Spiegelman
Creators | Michael Cavna talks with cartoonist Art Spiegelman about being only the third American to receive the Grand Prix from the Angoulême International Comics Festival. As recipient of the honor, the 62-year-old artist will help plan next year’s festival. “I don’t know whether you should say ‘congratulations’ or ‘condolences,’ ” he says. [The Washington Post]
Legal | A Michigan judge on Monday ordered the DNA of former retailer Michael George to be compared with a hair found on the body of his wife when she was shot to death in 1990 in their comic book store. George, 50, was found guilty in March 2008 of first-degree murder, but that conviction was set aside because of prosecutorial misconduct and the possibility of new evidence. [The Detroit News]
- February 1, 2011 @ 07:41 AM by Kevin Melrose