Comic Book Resources

AOL hopes to cut a whopping 2,500 jobs

AOL

AOL, which has been described as an albatross around the neck of DC Comics parent company Time Warner, plans to shed more than a third of its workforce as it spins off from the media giant next month.

Although earlier speculation placed layoffs at about 1,000, the struggling Internet company announced this morning that it will ask 2,500 of its 6,900 employees to accept buyouts. If it can't find enough volunteers, AOL will resort to layoffs. The announcement, part of an effort to cut $300 million in annual costs, comes a little more than a week after 100 layoffs.

Founded in 1983 as Quantum Computer Services, AOL at one point boasted 30 million subscribers, a number that shrank considerably after its 2001 merger with Time Warner -- a disastrous deal that resulted in a record $99-billion loss for the (briefly) rebranded AOL Time Warner and the removal of Steve Case as chairman.

AOL, which The Associated Press points out still makes money, counts among its operations the comics blog Comics Alliance, the tech blog Engadget, the video-game blog Joystiq and, in partnership with Time Warner's Telepictures Productions, the high-profile celebrity-news site TMZ.com.

The Case of the Disappearing Comics Journal #300 -- Solved!

The Comics Journal #300

What the heck happened to The Comics Journal #300? Stuffed to the gills with a murderers' row of comics creators in cross-generational conversation (from Matt Fraction & Denny O'Neil to Art Spiegelman & Kevin Huizenga), this anniversary spectacular became a swan song of sorts when a letter to subscribers revealed that it would be the venerable comics-criticism publication's final journal-format issue -- henceforth switching to a more online-focused model with semiannual book-format print editions.

So the the news that the whole thing had been posted online was met with much rejoicing... but the subsequent news that the whole thing had been yanked back behind the subscriber wall per the orders of co-publisher and editor Gary Groth was met with much head-scratching. Was this the result of an internal debate over the utility of free-content-as-marketing-device, as web editor and Journalista! blogger Dirk Deppey seemed to imply the next day? Was it a really lousy way to debut the Journal's impending web-based iteration, as frequent Journal contributor and future Journal blogger Noah Berlatsky lamented? Or was it a reaction to retailers upset that the product they'd shortly be trying to sell had been made available for free with no advance warning, as Johanna Draper Carlson surmised?

Well, if you had Carlson in your office pool, get ready to collect: Today on Journalista!, Deppey revealed that retailer complaints were indeed the reason for the issue's Internet vanishing act.

"We pulled TCJ #300 offline largely due to retailer concerns over not having been given adequate warning about said plans before ordering the issue," Deppey writes. "It was a fair point, and one that we hadn’t properly considered." Deppey goes on to say that the issue will be back online for all in December after retailers have a proper chance to sell the print version, and that all future issues will be available online for free as planned.

So yeah, rough start for the Journal's bold new era. Still, it's clear a lot of people really want to read the issue -- not the worst problem in the world to have, no?

iFanboy creates the Ultimate Comics Twitter Lists

The social networking site Twitter recently added a new function called "Lists," which allows users to create and share lists of Twitter accounts. The fine folks at iFanboy have done the world a solid and created several comic book oriented lists, so you can easily find Twitter feeds for creators, companies, podcasters, bloggers and media.

They've also set up a list for their staff, an idea I shamelessly stole as soon as Ron Richards emailed me about their lists. Now you too can find out what Brigid had for breakfast, what Kevin thinks of V and who Carla dressed as for Halloween, all from one handy feed.

Daring to defend The Dark Knight Strikes Again

from Frank Miller & Lynn Varley's The Dark Knight Strikes Again

It started with a dare. Here at Robot 6 a week ago, I posted about how comics legend Frank Miller has been posting comments at the blog of neoconservative pundit Victor Davis Hanson. This inspired a comment by James B. Elkins II that casted skepticism on my bonafides as a Miller fan. Since Miller is in fact my all-time favorite comics creator, I responded by daring any and all comers to challenge me to defend what is, to many readers, Miller's most indefensible work: The Dark Knight Strikes Again, Miller and colorist Lynn Varley's sequel to their seminal revisionist-superhero classic The Dark Knight Returns. I've always loved that book, but I'd never written about it at length. Well, David Brothers of The 4th Letter went ahead and took the dare and laid the challenge at my feet.

The result? I wrote a review of The Dark Knight Strikes Again for The Savage Critic(s), another one of my blog-homes away from blog-home. The piece, part of series of posts I'm doing on my all-time favorite comics, places Miller & Varley's much-maligned, much-misunderstood comic in the context of similarly bright and brash works by cartoonist Ben Jones, comedians Tim and Eric, the "glo-fi" subgenre of indie rock, and more. Do check it out--then swing by The 4th Letter for David Brothers's own two-part review of the book, which tackles it from a very different yet equally positive angle.

Frank Miller, conservative comment-thread commentator

Frank Miller and Eva Mendes (photo by UGO.com's Dr. Know)

He's one of the most influential comics creators of all time (and my personal favorite, might I add), but Frank Miller has kept a pretty low profile since the critical and box-office failure of his adaptation of Will Eisner's The Spirit last Christmas. He's reportedly continued to work on scripts for his Jim Lee collaboration All Star Batman & Robin, the Boy Wonder and the sequel to the Sin City film adaptation he co-directed with Robert Rodriguez; and of course there's his long-gestating graphic novel that may or may not be about Batman fighting al Qaeda and may or may not be called Holy Terror, Batman! But whatever he's been up to, he's been up to it incommunicado, turning down requests for interviews.

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The Meta-List returns: The 100 Best Comics of 2008

Dash Shaw's Bottomless Belly Button

Sandy Bilus of I Love Rob Liefeld, the Comics Internet tips its collective hat to you. Picking up the torch from the sadly discontinued blog of Dick Hyancith, Bilus has compiled a "meta-list" of the 100 best comics of 2008, as tabulated from the personal best-of lists of dozens of critics and commentators. Behold the Top Ten:

1. Bottomless Belly Button, by Dash Shaw
2. Acme Novelty Library #19, by Chris Ware
3. All-Star Superman, by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely
4. Too Cool To Be Forgotten, by Alex Robinson
5. What It Is, by Lynda Barry
6. Ganges #2, by Kevin Huizenga
7. The Alcoholic, by Jonathan Ames and Dean Haspiel
8. Skyscrapers of the Midwest, by Joshua Cotter
9. Kramers Ergot 7, by various
10. Capacity, by Theo Ellsworth

The point system used to tabulate the list makes it easy for books that made it onto a lot of individual lists but didn't top them to put in a strong showing; perhaps that explains the blowout victory of Bottomless Belly Button, which I recall as being widely liked but few people's #1 pick.

For you front-of-Previews types out there, DC's All-Star Superman is the highest ranking superhero comic, coming in at a strong #3. DC/Vertigo's The Alcoholic is the Big Two's next-highest representative at #7, while its labelmate Scalped comes in at #12. The top Marvel book, and second-highest superhero comic, is Omega the Unknown at #13. Manga's top-ranking title is Travel at #16. Click the link to see what else made the grade.

Me, I've got some quibbles here and there, as is to be expected. But overall, if you're looking to do some shopping this holiday season and don't mind being a year behind, you'd be hard pressed to top this for a wishlist.

Slash Print | Following the digital evolution

Zuda

Webcomics | Scott Kurtz, who hosted the Harvey Awards this past weekend, shares his thoughts on what he saw at the Zuda table over the weekend. Kurtz, the creator of the long-running and highly successful PvP webcomic, has been an outspoken critic of Zuda since they launched, but had a different take on DC's monthly webcomics contest after this weekend.

"If companies like DC can enter the Webcomics world, and find a way to work with creators fairly and bring credibility and positive attention to this medium…that’s good," Kurtz writes. "If Zuda can light a fire under the asses of talent that normally wouldn’t make progress, that’s awesome. We want that, don’t we? Doesn’t a rising tide lift all ships? I know I’m skeptical. I like being skeptical. But maybe I’ve witnessed so many Platinums in the past that I’m a little gun-shy. Maybe…maybe…Zuda isn’t going to fuck people over."

Also worth reading on his blog, Kurtz talks about what it was like to host the Harveys.

Webcomics | In anticipation of the release of the ACT-I-VATE Primer from IDW, Graphic NYC has dubbed this ACT-I-VATE week and will run features all week about the webcomics collective and its contributors.

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Comics A.M. | The comics Internet in two minutes

Wowio

Publishing | Wowio, the struggling digital publisher purchased last year by financially troubled Platinum Studios, was sold last month to a holding company formed by Platinum President and COO Brian Altounian. No information is provided about what effect the sale will have on debts owed by Wowio. [Flashback Universe, via Comics Worth Reading]

Publishing | DC Comics Publisher Paul Levitz discusses graphic novels, pricing, digital comics and an industry in transition: "You’re transitioning away from, for lack of a better term, the homespun period of the business. When you had a very small section of graphic novels in the comic shop it was very easy for the proprietor to bet on anything that happened to be in the catalog. It doesn’t matter whether I know anything about the writer, or the artist, you got a good little blurb. When you go to a world in which the large publishers are sending you out a galley version of the graphic novel six months in advance, and is announcing on the back cover the five-step marketing program that they’re doing for it, it’s a lot harder for the little guy who’s launching it from home to do it. Is there still room for a Cartoon Books to do Bone? Sure. But Bone succeeded because it was the combination of really brilliant creativity by Jeff, and a very well-run small business by Jeff and Vijaya." [ICv2.com]

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Comics A.M. | The comics Internet in two minutes

Krypton explodes

Legal | Marc Graser breaks down what aspects of Superman are now controlled by the heirs of co-creator Jerry Siegel after Wednesday's court ruling: depictions of "Superman's origins from the planet Krypton, his parents Jor-El and Lora, Superman as the infant Kal-El, the launching of the infant Superman into space by his parents as Krypton explodes and his landing on Earth in a fiery crash." In 2013, the estate of Joe Shuster will become co-owners of the copyright to Action Comics #1 and the newly recaptured early works.

Warner Bros. and DC Comics, which still own later additions to Superman's mythos -- flight and other superpowers, kryptonite, Lex Luthor, Jimmy Olsen, etc. -- issued a statement characterizing the decision as affirmation that "the vast majority of key elements" developed after Action Comics #1 remain the property of DC. [Variety]

The Muppet Show #1

Publishing | Wired.com's Andrew Kardon profiles BOOM! Studios' kids' imprint, which features Disney/Pixar comics and, soon, the Disney Standards line. [GeekDad]

Creators | Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial cartoonist Matt Davies talks about being laid off by the Westchester, N.Y., Journal-News after 17 years with the newspaper: "I was told a few months back by my editor that my position was valued, so I didn’t expect this. I’m not stupid, the business model is in dire straits for all newspapers, we all know that. It’s weird. Before there was a focus on the content; management was cognizant of the need for content, but this time it was all about the numbers, so my position was cut." [The Daily Cartoonist]

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Guest post: David Brothers on why conventions are fun

Editor's note: I roomed with David Brothers at the San Diego Comic-Con this year, and not only did he not snore, but he also agreed to write something up for Robot 6 about the con. Now that's a good roommate. To see more from David, check out his regular posts over at 4thletter!

by David Brothers

San Diego Comic-Con 2009 has been over for just about a week now, and I feel like I'm finally shaking that hazy feeling a lot of con-goers experience post-con. It's kind of like being cast out of Never Never Land and forced to become an adult again. No more late nights partying, talking about comics, and constant sensory overload.

I always forget that the sensory overload isn't the most fun part of the con. Walking the show floor is like having several thousand people shouting in your ear to buy this, check this out, look at this, don't you want this, c'mon buy this! all at the same time. It's always very interesting, and there are some great things to be seen on the floor, but really, it's all just a big ad, right?

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SDCC '09 | Preview night

Comic-Con

• So, leaving off from yesterday ... had lunch with Strangeways creator Matt Maxwell at Tommy's, which serves hamburgers and fries topped with chili. Oh man.

• After delighting our palates, Matt and I picked up Matt's roommate for the show, Savage Critic Jeff Lester, and headed to the show to get our badges. Both Jeff (who has written comics for BOOM!) and Matt were getting pro badges. Last year these were two separate lines at the con, and I remember watching the pro line move fairly well while the press line went really slow.

Gotta give major props to the con folks this year, as using a pre-registration system that resulted in printing a barcode from the web, both pros and press were in the same line. And it moved really fast. A volunteer zapped your barcode, printed your badge and sent you on your way. It was very easy and painless, and I didn't get sunburned while waiting in line like last year.

• After moving through the line, we ran into David Gallaher, writer/co-creator of High Moon on Zuda. He mentioned he's doing a comic for the iPhone.

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Comics A.M. | The comics Internet in two minutes

Catwoman, from Johnny's Resin

Legal | DC Comics has sued a Florida man, accusing him of violating the company's trademarks and copyrights by creating and selling unauthorized resin figurine kits based on characters from the 1960s Batman TV series.

John Stacks, owner of Johnny's Resin, claims he has agreements with the actors represented by his figurines. DC Comics, which filed the lawsuit on July 9, says that it repeatedly warned Stacks about the violations. The company seeks, among other things, the destruction of all unauthorized products, packaging and molds, three times Stacks' profits from selling the figurines, and statutory damages ranging from $750 to $30,000 for each infringement.

Stacks has shut down his website, leaving only the message, "THIS SITE IS CLOSED AND NO LONGER PRODUCES ANY RESIN KITS OR ANY OTHER ITEMS!" [Tampa Bay Online, lawsuit]

Retailing | Bookstore sales fell 3 percent in May to $1.1 billion. [Publishers Weekly]

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Slash Print | Following the digital evolution

The Crooked Man

Webcomics | Corinna Bechko, one of the co-creators of The Crooked Man, says that she and artist Gabriel Hardman are working to turn their Zuda submission into a graphic novel. They placed fifth in the July 2008 Zuda competition. (Thanks David!)

Webcomics | Warren Pleece's Montague Terrace has started running on the ACTIVATE website. You can also find all the pages at his blog. In other ACTIVATE news, the site also now includes a column by Tim Hall.

Twitter | T Campbell is twittering his thoughts on Crisis on Infinite Earths as he rereads the decades-old crossover series. "Praise, critique, and lots of snark ahead." [Via The Beat]

e-Devices | The full audio of the South by Southwest interactive panel "Comics on Handhelds: Taking Webcomics Mobile" is now online. The panel features Dan Goldman, Rich Stevens, Douglas Edwards, Molly Crabapple, Dave Bort and Rantz Hoseley "in a let's-sketch-out-solutions talk for transitioning webcomics to a variety of new petri dishes," Goldman said.

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Hip Hop meets comic books at 'Destroy All Mics'

BRO.D.O.C.

I found this via David Brothers; Destroy All Mics! is "a visual mash-up of hip hop and comic icons. Sometimes the connections are merely physical in nature, some are derived from word play, and some draw loose parallels to the more dramatic stories found in each." The blog + art is by Adam Rosenlund.

Project: Rooftop reveals 'Batman 2.0' contest winners

Anjin Anhut's winning entry for the "Batman 2.0" contest

Superhero costume-redesign website Project: Rooftop has announced the winners of its "Batman 2.0: The Dynamic Do-Over" contest, as selected by its usual crew of reviewers plus artists Dustin Nguyen and J.H. Williams III.

The grand prize went to the above entry, by Anjin Anhut.

To see the other finalists, and to read the judges' comments, visit the P:R website.