2011 July
Borders on brink of liquidation after creditors object to proposal
Borders
What only two weeks ago looked like a promising proposal to save the bankrupt Borders Group suddenly fell apart Wednesday, likely leaving the remains of the nation’s second-largest bookstore chain to be picked over by liquidators.
Phoenix-based private equity firm Najafi Cos., which owns the Book of the Month Club and Columbia House, submitted a $215 million bid for the bookseller on July 1, but The Associated Press reports that creditors objected, saying nothing would prevent the company from liquidating the retailer immediately after taking possession.
The publisher-led creditor committee insists that a bid from liquidators Hilco Merchant Resources and Gordon Brothers is stronger, and would amount to between between $252 million and $284 million in cash. In a court filing, the creditors said they hoped Najafi would increase its bid, which included the assumption of $220 million in liabilities. However, Najafi is standing firm.
Although another bidder could step in before Sunday’s bidding deadline, The Wall Street Journal’s contends Borders “looks to be headed to the scrap heap.”
In a statement sent Wednesday to the bookseller’s nearly 11,000 employees, Borders President Mike Edwards said that he remains hopeful another offer will emerge. “In the meantime, as the process moves forward, we will continue to conduct business as usual,” he wrote. “Our stores remain open, and Borders.com is fulfilling orders as usual. It’s important that we all stay focused recognizing that media speculation will no doubt continue.”
- July 14, 2011 @ 09:00 AM by Kevin Melrose
Is Sailor Moon poised for a comeback?
Sailor Moon was the first shoujo manga to catch on in the United States, and the anime succeeded in part because of organized fan campaigns to keep it on the air. The rights for both the manga and the anime had both lapsed by 1995, 2005, however, so both have been officially unavailable here since then.
Kodansha Comics galvanized fans last spring with the announcement that they would publish a new edition of Sailor Moon as well as the previously unpublished (in the U.S.) prequel Codename: Sailor V. There’s no word on the anime yet, but here’s an interesting sign: Anime News Network reports that Great Eastern Entertainment has listed four Sailor Moon items for future sale (no prices or details were listed), all bearing a Toei Animation logo. (The page has mysteriously disappeared since ANN posted it, and it doesn’t look like Great Eastern responded to their request for comment.) As an alert commenter at ANN points out, Toei, the owner of the Sailor Moon anime, was shopping around “refurbished” episodes at the MIPTV market in Cannes last year. Perhaps someone bit, either there or elsewhere. The fansite Moon Chase reports (from an anonymous source) that there is another deal that has to be finalized at a higher level before the anime can be licensed in the U.S., and they are skeptical about this latest development, but some enthusiastic folks are speculating that an announcement could come as early as Funimation’s panel at SDCC.
Judging from the reaction I got when I wrote about Sailor Moon at MTV Geek, there’s a huge fandom out there that is anxious to get their manga and anime back. While Kodansha’s deluxe-edition manga seem to be aimed at older readers reliving their youth, the anime has a lot of teen appeal, and if it is re-released in the U.S., we could see history repeat itself.
- July 14, 2011 @ 08:00 AM by Brigid Alverson
SDCC Wishlist | Oni debuts One Soul, Petrograd and more
One Soul
Oni Press sent over their big list o’ items they’ll have at their booth, which includes shirts, prints and other items. They’ll also debut two very ambitious and awesome-sounding graphic novels, One Soul by Ray Fawkes and Petrograd by Phil Gelatt and Tyler Crook. They’ll also have copies of the first two issues of Spontaneous (you can read the first issue right here on Robot 6!)
Oni will also conduct portfolio reviews for artists; check out the details at the end of the post.
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Oni Press is in San Diego for San Diego Comic-Con 2011! July 20th – 24th we’ll be strutting our stuff at booth #1833. Come by and check out our eclectic library of titles including the premiere of:
One Soul
By Ray Fawkes
*Every copy purchased at the show comes with a limited edition signing card*
From visionary cartoonist Ray Fawkes comes one of the most original and thought-provoking graphic novels of all time! A unique and poetic narrative, One Soul takes the experiences of 18 individuals and weaves them into the spiritual journey of a lifetime. Gracefully flowing from character to character, moment to moment, Fawkes has crafted a stunning mosaic that takes advantage of the medium of sequential art in a way few creators dare.
- July 14, 2011 @ 07:00 AM by JK Parkin
Previews: What looks good for September
Conspiracy of the Planet of the Apes
It’s time once again for our monthly trip through Previews looking for cool, new comics. As usual, we’re focusing on graphic novels, collected volumes, and first issues so that I don’t have to come up with a new way to say, “Planet of the Apes is still awesome!” every month. And I’ll continue letting Tom and Carla do the heavy lifting in regards to DC and Marvel’s solicitations.
Also, please feel free to play along in the comments. Tell me what I missed that you’re looking forward to or – if you’re a comics creator – mention your own stuff.
Ape
White Picket Fences: Red Scare and ongoing series - One of my favorite Ape comics is getting collected and then relaunched as an ongoing. I’m a big fan of Micah Farritor’s art in Red Scare, so it’s sad that he won’t be back for the ongoing, but the little kids vs. UFOs concept is ripe enough to keep me interested, particularly in the wake of Super 8.
Archaia
Man, Archaia lays low for a couple of months and then BAM!
Jim Henson’s A Tale of Sand - I saw the presentation on this at C2E2 at it looks amazing. No Muppets, but Henson’s fingerprints are all over it in the surreal, subversive craziness that he’s known for.
Conspiracy of the Planet of the Apes - This is an illustrated novel, not a comic, so I debated about including it, but it’s being Planet of the Apes and published by Archaia won out. It’s set during the original movie and covers stuff that we know happened, but didn’t see (the fate of Landon, for instance) as well as working in characters from other movies (like Dr. Milo from Escape from the Planet of the Apes). And when they say it’s illustrated, they’re talking about folks like Jim Steranko, Joe Jusko, and Dave Dorman. This is a must-have.
- July 13, 2011 @ 05:00 PM by Michael May
Writer Tim Seeley to wield the Witchblade
Witchblade
USA Today reports that Hack/Slash‘s Tim Seeley will begin writing Top Cow’s Witchblade series with issue #151, due Oct. 26. Seeley replaces Ron Marz on the title, who, along with artist Stjepan Sejic, wrap up their run with issue #150.
The report says that Top Cow’s Artifacts crossover series, which ends in October, will bring “lots of changes to the Top Cow universe in its wake.” As a result, Witchblade wielder Sara Pezzini will move to Chicago. “It’s going to give me a chance to give her a new rogues gallery in a new location. My interest in it is more to add to the mythology than to dig up what’s been done already,” Seeley said. Fans will be happy to hear that the price will be dropped to $2.99.
Joining Seeley on the title are artists Diego Bernard and Fred Benes. The stories will be “dark fantasy with a hint of crime noir,” according to the paper, and Seeley also said he plans to continue his work on Hack/Slash.
- July 13, 2011 @ 04:00 PM by JK Parkin
Truman and son team for new ‘weird west’ series
Hawken
Tim Truman of Scout, Jonah Hex, Conan and Grimjack fame is teaming up with his son Ben for a new six-issue comic book series from IDW Publishing.
Hawken, according to the press release, tells the story of aging gunman Kitchell Hawken and “his bloody, one-man vendetta against the Tucson Ring, a brotherhood of arms merchants and corrupt politicians who once employed him.” Hawken is joined on the path to vendetta by the ghosts of everyone he’s killed, who are cursed to help him.
“In many ways, it’s not the ghosts who haunt Hawken. It’s Hawken who haunts them. They try to trip him up at every turn,” Tim Truman said. “Folks would be hard pressed to find a character as ruthless and pissed-off as Kit Hawken. He has good reasons for his rampage, and believe me, a rampage it is. For once, the bad men have truly messed with the wrong guy.”
The father and son team co-created the series, which Tim will draw and Ben will script. Ben said the idea came to them while Tim was visiting him in Tucson.
“My parents were visiting here in Arizona, and while driving through Sunset Crater Park I asked Dad if he’s ever seen any accounts where a man had survived a scalping,” Ben Truman said. “Somehow, that kicked it off. Hawken grew from the landscapes of each new place we visited: His name in Flagstaff, his past in Bisbee, the curse in Tempe, his vendetta in Tombstone. By the time we left San Xavier Mission, the first issue was plotted. A year later, we signed a contract with IDW. We all hope this story will grab people like it did us.”
- July 13, 2011 @ 03:30 PM by JK Parkin
Webcomics creator tries the honor system
Frank Page has been drawing Bob the Squirrel since 2002—”in internet years, that makes the strip as old as the last ice age,” he said in an e-mail—and he draws much of his inspiration from everyday life. “90% of what happens to me in my real life, whether it is ugly, embarrassing or not, gets put in the strip,” he said. “It’s that willingness to show the blemishes that really speaks to my readers. Anyone who draws a daily comic strip will agree that the process of creating is simultaneously the best therapy and the quickest route to insanity.”
Perhaps that’s why he hit on what seems at first like a crazy idea: He put together a 22-page comic telling the origin story of the title character and invited readers to download it and pay whatever they think is fair. So how’s that going? I was curious, so I e-mailed Frank a couple of questions, and he was kind enough to respond. While donations were “all over the map,” he said, “people seem to be comfortable with the $3-$5 range,” which he characterized as “very fair.”
Quick Q&A after the jump.
- July 13, 2011 @ 03:00 PM by Brigid Alverson
Comics colorist Christina Strain writes The Fox Sister with artist Jayd Aït-Kaci
If you read enough comics, you come to know how important a colorist can be to the finished product. And if you’re a connoisseur-of-comics-coloring, then you know Christina Strain. After getting acclaim for her work on The Runaways and Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane, she’s been laying down colors on S.H.I.E.L.D. and the recent Shadowland series. It turns out she’s branching out into the writing of comics, and doing that with the new webcomic The Fox Sister with artist Jayd Aït-Kaci.
Described by the authors as a “Korean Supernatural thriller/dram-edy,” The Fox Sister runs a new page every Thursday. From the early pages it looks to be a revenge story, but we’re still early on yet. Get in on the ground floor!
- July 13, 2011 @ 02:30 PM by Chris Arrant
Comic-Con reveals Jim Lee’s Justice League cover for souvenir book
Art by Jim Lee, Scott Williams and Alex Sinclair
Comic-Con International has unveiled the cover art for this year’s souvenir book, featuring the core of DC Comics’ new Justice League lineup by Jim Lee, Scott Williams and Alex Sinclair. The 192-page book will be available for free to attendees of the July 21-24 event in San Diego.
The image will also grace the Official CCI 2011 T-shirt, which will be available at the Comic-Con Boutique (Booth #2515) for prices ranging from $18.95 to $24.95, depending on size. More details about the souvenir book, T-shirt and other convention exclusives are available on the Comic-Con website.
- July 13, 2011 @ 02:00 PM by Kevin Melrose
The Art of Amanda Conner coming in January
If you love comics, then there’s a good reason to suspect you love art; after all, that’s what they’re built on. And an upcoming release puts one of the the modern age’s most talented artists into full focus. Coming in just six months is The Art of Amanda Conner, penned by Conner herself and published by IDW.
I’ve been following Conner’s work for years; ever since her work on The Pro I’ve dug through back-issue bins and pre-ordered new work to keep myself appraised of what she does. She has an undoubted admiration for good girl art, mixing both sexiness and humor without turning it salacious. She seems like a talent that numerous publishers and writers fight over to draw their stories, but Conner has largely stuck to a close circle of friends, including her NYer beau Jimmy Palmiotti.
Although not scheduled for release until January 2012, The Art of Amanda Conner is a must-have in this comic-art-lovin’ household. I hope Conner will be at Megacon later that month so I can get it signed!
- July 13, 2011 @ 01:00 PM by Chris Arrant
From Turtles to Dinosaurs: Mirage artist Jim Lawson branches out
Cartoonist Jim Lawson has spent the past 20+ years working under Peter Laird’s Mirage Studios banner on its flagship characters, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. But now he’s branching out and trading in Turtles for Dinosaurs — and not the teenage, mutant, or ninja kind.
In his new webcomic series Paleo: Loner, Lawson shows the paleolithic story of one of dinosaurs’ fiercest members, a Tyrannosaurus Rex. Using a more realistic style than his TMNT work,Lawson contrasts the visuals with a third-person narrative that gets inside the head of this fearsome monster and why he does what he does.
In addition to the story and the art, one of the things that stood out to me is although Lawson is presenting this digitally as webcomic, looking at the pages you’ll see they’re hand-drawn and hand-lettered — a rare thing in print comics or digital.
- July 13, 2011 @ 12:00 PM by Chris Arrant
Is this the triumphant return of Wonder Woman’s star-spangled shorts?
Two versions of Cliff Chiang's cover for "Wonder Woman" #1: left, the updated version; and right, the orginal
Despite her depictions on promotional materials and the covers for the debut issues of Justice League and her own title, it appears as if Wonder Woman will once again don star-spangled shorts come DC Comics’ September relaunch.
The evidence emerged this morning with the announcement of the DC Comics: The New 52 preview book that will be released next Wednesday in comic shops and at Comic-Con International in San Diego. In the upper left-hand corner of the cover is a slightly modified version of Cliff Chiang’s art for Wonder Woman #1, with the Amazon Princess now sporting shorts for the first time in more than a year — when Jim Lee’s divisive costume redesign was introduced as part of J. Michael Straczynski’s short-lived new direction for the character.
Wonder Woman #1, by Brian Azzarello and Cliff Chiang, will be released on Sept. 21.
- July 13, 2011 @ 11:00 AM by Kevin Melrose
Osamu Tezuka is coming to your iPad
Can’t get enough of Astro Boy and Black Jack? Here’s some good news for fans of Osamu Tezuka, a.k.a. “the father of manga”: Tezuka Productions is putting out an iPad app containing 62 volumes of Tezuka’s work and 39 episodes of “Motion Manga.” The manga are translated (the motion manga are subtitled) and stored in the cloud, and you can access all of it for a subscription fee of $9.99 per month. It’s already in the iTunes store. The service will expand to Android tablets in the fall and winter, and a host of other foreign-language versions are under consideration.
I downloaded the app, which is free, onto my iPad. The selection isn’t bad: In addition to Black Jack and Astro Boy, it offers volumes of Ode to Kirihito, Apollo’s Song, Dororo, Phoenix, Buddha, MW, and Adolf. (One has to wonder how some of this content got through the iTunes store’s screening.) It’s not very responsive, though: I got the opening screen you see above, but the touch controls to download the magazines and configure the app didn’t respond until I held my finger down on them for a while. This happens sometimes with iPad apps—Comics+ used to be very slow and you had to almost hit the screen to make it work, before they upgraded it—but by now I’d like to see that kind of bug worked out. One more beef, as long as I’m complaining: It’s customary to offer some free samples to entice people to buy, but all you get with this app is an invitation to subscribe. I’d rather pay a few dollars more for one of Vertical’s beautifully produced volumes of Black Jack or Dororo and get to keep it forever, but if you want to gorge yourself at an all-you-can-eat Tezuka buffet, this does offer a lot of manga for a decent price.
- July 13, 2011 @ 10:00 AM by Brigid Alverson
Talking Comics with Tim | Dale Eaglesham
Dale Eaglesham's Variant Cover: Alpha Flight 2
Today marks the release of the second issue of Marvel’s new Alpha Flight eight-issue miniseries. Given how committed and enthused the creative team of writers Greg Pak and Fred Van Lente (on evidence in the two writers’ May 2011 CBR interview) along with artist Dale Eaglesham are about the project, I hope it becomes a regular series, quite honestly. To mark the release of the latest issue, Eaglesham agreed to an email interview. I never tire of conducting discussions of this type, where I can find out the approach an artist takes in certain scenes or with particular characters. If you’re as much a fan of this latest incarnation of Alpha Flight as I clearly am, do Eaglesham the favor of following his marching orders (detailed in the last part of this interview) so that the book can hopefully become an ongoing. In addition to discussing Alpha Flight, I was pleased to learn more about the local charity that Eaglesham supports: Refuge RR, a local animal refuge.
Tim O’Shea: Your art clearly meshes well when in collaboration with writers like Van Lente and Pak, it seems like they give you opportunity to stretch the boundaries of what you can do as an artist. For example, in the shocking reveal of issue 1, I was struck by the flock of birds flying behind Heather. Was that something specifically requested in the script or was that totally your idea?
Dale Eaglesham: That was actually my idea. It was just a casual symbol I put in there, referring to lost freedom, for Mac, but also for the whole country. It foreshadows what’s coming for Alpha Flight and Canada, and creates a sense of foreboding. You know when all the birds fly away, there’s danger nearby… I love when I get a big shot like that, it allows me to add layers to the art.
- July 13, 2011 @ 09:00 AM by Tim O'Shea
Action Comics stars ‘a Bruce Springsteen version of Superman’
Action Comics #1
If you’re perplexed by the denim-clad Man of Steel on the cover of Action Comics #1, Grant Morrison has two words for you: The Boss.
“With what we’re doing he’s wearing jeans and a T-shirt – a Bruce Springsteen version of Superman, that’s the angle we’re taking,” the writer tells London’s Metro. “The cape’s still indestructible but the rest is picked up in a shop.”
I’m not sure precisely what that means, but if it leads to Jimmy Olsen becoming the Steven Van Zandt of the New DCU — complete with flowing bandanna — I’m all for it.
The relaunched Action Comics, by Morrison and artist Rags Morales, has been touted as the writer as a “big beginning” and a “new chapter” for the 73-year-old character. “We want to introduce a take on Superman that’s going to be so different that no one can expect what might happen next,” Morrison promised in a video address released last month. “One of the things we’re going to do in this book is also to show you how Superman is, who he is, why he ended up wearing the costume that he wears. And to show kind of a different side to the character than we’ve ever seen before.”
To Metro, Morrison adds: “I want to solve some of the problems that have grown up around the character. People now ask: ‘Why the hell would he dress up like that?’ I want to make Superman a more contemporary character. We’ll be changing how he looks, dresses and behaves. He’ll be more like the Superman who appeared in 1938 – more socially active and a champion of the oppressed.”
Action Comics #1 is set for a Sept. 7 release.
- July 13, 2011 @ 08:00 AM by Kevin Melrose