Black Dossier

Libraries | The library board in Jessamine County, Kentucky, heard public comment last night about acquisition and borrowing policies and the recent firings of two employees who kept a copy of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Black Dossier out of circulation. The hourlong meeting was marked by shouting, crying and the presentation of petitions, including one that called for the removal of two books and two DVDs -- Black Dossier among them -- from county library shelves. No action was taken by the board. [Lexington Herald-Leader]

Awards | A controversy emerged just a day before the National Book Awards ceremony as author/blogger Janice Harayda suggested that Kathi Appelt, a judge in the Young People''s category, should recuse herself because finalist David Small had illustrated her novel. In her response Appelt was cryptic, at best, saying that as committee deliberations are private, "I or any other judge might well have excused ourselves from voting on any particular book, if conflict of interest were an issue.” In the end, Small's celebrated graphic memoir Stiches didn't win last night; Phillip Hoose's Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice did. [ArtsBeat, Jacket Copy]

IDW storefront

Publishing | IDW Publishing has launched a digital-storefront application for iPhone and iPod that now features 10 free comics and more than 200 for purchase. Titles will be added regularly. [IDW Publishing]

Publishing | SLG Publishing is holding a "pre-holiday recession sale" through Monday, during which time all items online are offered at a 40-percent discount: "The economy tanking combined with some bits of bad luck has taken it's toll on our small company. We're finding ourselves in a bit of a jam due to some things that are beyond our control. ... Since we are not a bank or a car company we aren't going to get any bailout money from any source other than our loyal fans." Cartoonist Evan Dorkin has more. [SLG Publishing]

Publishing | Speaking of SLG, cartoonist Andy Ristaino writes that low pre-orders for Escape From Dullsville could mean the collection of his seven-issue Life of a Fetus won't see print. [Livejournal]

The Phoenix Requiem

Webcomics | Robot 6 contributor Brigid Alverson spotlights a selection of science fiction and fantasy titles for teens. [School Library Journal]

Manga | Kami no Shizuku ("Drops of God"): Savior of wineries the world over. [Kyodo News]

Comics | This article looks at how "recession-proof" comics -- POW! SPLAT! -- "seem to flower during periods of economic stress." Sigh. [DailyFinance]

Creators | Eddie Campbell chats briefly about Alec: The Years Have Pants, autobiographical comics and what recent releases have interested him. [Speakeasy]

Fables: The Deluxe Edition

Creators | Ron Hogan posts a three-part interview with Bill Willingham in which the writer discusses the popularity of the Fables franchise, the state of the industry, politics in comics, Justice Society of America and his fondness for the character Obsidian. It's a solid interview; go read it. [Graphic Novel Reporter]

Creators | Artist Danijel Zezelj talks about process, influences and working with writers like Brian Azzarello, Jason Aaron and Brian Wood: "Some scriptwriters use more descriptions, some less. For instance, Brian Azzarello, his scenarios are almost exclusively dialogues. ... He uses very little descriptions, more like description of the situation, where and what happens, but practically everything else is left to the drawer. But he can do this, because Brian Azzarello is a big master of dialogue. Basically, through dialogues the characters are being formed. I like the most those kinds of scenarios, because in such cases you have completely opened space for composing images and layouts. I have a lot more freedom within that form." [Personal Cyber Botanica]

The end of Chronicle

Since I spoke to Joe Infurnari last week about the abrupt end of the Process, I thought it would be nice to talk to a creator who brought his work to a more deliberate end. For Way, Chronicle was a testing ground where he developed both his cartooning skills and the discipline to draw a daily comic. And now he is applying those lessons elsewhere: as it happens, Way is launching a new comic, Strewth!, on November 30 (but click now for the preview art).

Brigid Alverson: Why did you decide to end Chronicle?

Josh Way: I knew from the start that Chronicle would have an ending, though I was flexible about how and when that would happen. There was always a sense that Chronicle was a prelude to something else. Not that it was a throwaway or a false start, but it was as much about developing discipline as a cartoonist as it was about the story. For lack of a less dumb analogy, I suppose it was a kind of cartoonist boot camp I devised for myself.

The decision to actually end the strip came when I felt I had established some discipline in the daily work, and when the story was moving naturally into a kind of "third act." I started wishing I could apply the things I'd learned to something new, and the web platform gave me the freedom to move in that direction.

Brigid: Were there financial factors involved? Was it competing with paid comics work, or was it bringing in enough money that you felt it was worthwhile to keep it going for a while?

Josh: Chronicle was basically unprofitable. Ad sales paid for hosting and I sold some books, but it never successfully monetized. It might have been the limited appeal of the subject matter, but it was more likely my ignorance in marketing. I was working a full time job in web development and enjoying some freelance writing opportunities at the same time, so there was income elsewhere. That income plus the low cost and relative freedom of the webcomic model meant that unprofitability didn't have to kill Chronicle. Still, high on my list of priorities for the next project are finding a broader audience and monetizing. I would very much like to make money drawing a webcomic.

Brigid: Do you think the fact that it was a webcomic, rather than a print comic where you have to worry about issues, page counts, etc., affected your planning process? Is it easier to be open-ended with a webcomic than a print comic?

Josh: Yes, and yes. The freedom of the webcomic model gives the artist so much flexibility in terms of planning. This is a blessing and a curse, as many artists (even successful ones) seem to lapse into lethargy and the "strip's gonna be late today" syndrome. That was never a problem for me. I started with a three week buffer of completed strips and maintained it (give or take) until the end. It really paid off when a particular storyline wasn't working and I scrapped my entire buffer to fix it. I had to work hard to rebuild the buffer, but I never had to apologize to my readers or take a week off.

That's just one way the freedom can be an advantage. It also allows you to plan ahead in terms of writing and artwork. If I wanted to take a week-long detour storywise, no problem. If I knew I was going to be busy with other projects on a particular week, I could plan strips that required simpler artwork (or, if I may confess this, recycled artwork).

Brigid: What has happened to your site traffic since the comic ended? Are people still discovering Chronicle and reading it?

Josh: My traffic has only dropped about 30% since the end of the strip. Which is pretty remarkable, as I am not actively promoting it anymore. Traffic was never exactly booming. I seemed to find a core audience and I think I kept most of them on board til the end. The forum has gone silent, and I haven't heard from any new readers in the last six months. So I'm not sure if the traffic I'm still getting is old friends popping by to read their favorite strips, or newcomers stumbling upon it for the first time.

Brigid: How long do you think you will keep it up online?

Josh: I'll keep it online for the foreseeable future.

Brigid: Money aside, would you say that making the comic was worthwhile, in terms of experience, exposure, and other intangibles?

Josh: It was absolutely worthwhile, on many levels. I'm satisfied with the work. I enjoyed the learning process. And while it didn't exactly make a huge splash in the world of webcomics, it did give me some exposure and led to some great opportunities. Bill Corbett (of Mystery Science Theater 3000 and Rifftrax.com) discovered the strip and contacted me, and that led to a stint as a contributing writer on a number of Rifftrax releases including Spider-Man 2, The Dark Knight, and Harry Potter 3. That was a dream come true, and has led to other similar opportunities. (DVDs of my own movie riffing enterprise are available at http://www.joshway.com/dvds.)

For all of the aspects that were less than successful, I have no regrets and nothing but excitement for future projects.

Brigid: What are you doing now, and did your experience with Chronicle have any
influence on your current work?

Josh: I'm still working full time as a web developer for a private college. I'm also attending seminary which has taken up most of my time lately. On the creative front, I've been writing for an Internet show called Incognito Cinema Warriors XP and, of course, thinking about a new webcomic.

The new project is a gag comic called Strewth! It will be much more open and random than Chronicle (though some of the old familiar characters might show up now and then). There will be much more topical humor and cultural commentary, both of which were missing in Chronicle. I'm excited about the freedom of the premise (or lack thereof), but happy to have the lessons of Chronicle under my belt as I move ahead.

The beginning of Strewth!

Al Columbia's Pim & Francie

If fans of mercurial cartoonist Al Columbia have learned anything over the course of his sporadic but storied career, it's "get it while it's hot." He's got talent to burn, but he burned out on Alan Moore's Big Numbers, his groundbreaking work in Zero Zero and The Biologic Show has never been collected, and he kind of disappeared from the scene for a decade or so, infamously scrapping much of his own work before it could see the light of day. But after the recent release of his stunning art-comics-detritus collection Pim & Francie and signings at SPX and the Fantagraphics Bookstore, all is forgiven, right?

Let's hope so, because it seems Columbia's once again becoming an elusive commodity. First Columbia's signing at Brooklyn's Desert Island last Friday was canceled. Then, fellow artist Ashley Wood blogged that Columbia's planned installment of the Sparrow art-book series from IDW has been canceled as well.

But all is not lost: Pim & Francie is out and is awesome, Providence's Ada Books was still touting Columbia's scheduled December 11th appearance there yesterday afternoon, and as Robot 6 has noted, Floating World is selling a jaw-dropping print by Columbia titled "Toyland." (Thanks to Tom Spurgeon for the reminder.) Frankly, as long as the man produces work that looks like that, who cares what else he does (or doesn't do)?

One of the "Zits" strips in question

You have to hand it to readers of the incredibly shrinking comics section: Many of them have a clear vision for those pages, even if most newspaper editors don't.

The funnies largely go ignored in newsrooms, at least until word comes down that pages must be axed or, else, there's a once-in-a-blue-moon announcement that a cartoonist or syndicate is ending a strip. But those readers who turn to Cathy or Hagar or Rex Morgan each day know exactly what they want (usually that's for the page to look the same as it always has).

Take, for instance, Ted Trump of Orleans, Massachusetts. When he opens the Cape Cod Times, he expects to be entertained by Zits -- not to be confronted with the type of scandalous nudity that's been the trademark of Love Is ... for the past four decades.

As best as I can tell, the reader was offended by this three-day run (SFW!) of Jerry Scott and Jim Borgman's Zits, a nod to the long-running, single-panel comic originated by Kim Grove. If you're somehow unfamiliar with Love Is ..., it's an often-difficult-to-stomach ode to, well, love, that stars two characters who, despite their nudity, display no secondary sexual features. Except for their hair and eyelashes, they're indistinguishable from each other.

So for three days last week, Scott and Borgman adapted two of their characters to that visual style for a series of gags titled "Love Isn't ..." Harmless enough, right? Wrong.

Trump writes that he found the strips "to be inappropriate and offensive," and goes on to suggest the Times' editors "get to work monitoring such comic strip authors by not accepting this sort of deviation from enjoyable and proper comics."

What's more -- and you knew there would be more -- he asserts the cartoonists "should be penalized for submitting such inappropriate and offensive material in the future by a substantial monetary withholding."

That's right, dock their pay!

While the editors of the Cape Cod Times calculate how many pennies to deduct under Trump's plan, I'll be busy filing for reparations for a lifetime of exposure to Love Is ...

Stuck in the Middle

Libraries | There's still more follow-up to the removal this week of Stuck in the Middle: Seventeen Comics from an Unpleasant Age from two middle-school libraries in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Teachers still have access to the anthology -- it depicts language and sexual reference that at least one parent found objectionable -- and may use it in class.

An editorial in the Argus Leader calls the school board's decision "a reasonable approach that balances the need to provide suitable guidance for kids when dealing with sensitive topics without falling prey to censorship." CBS affiliate KELO, meanwhile, continues its coverage of the story with a look at how books are selected for libraries. Tom Spurgeon also has reaction from two of the anthology's contributors. [Argus Leader, KELOLAND.com]

Creators | Jeet Heer digs up writings by a young Dave Sim expressing, in no uncertain terms, his disdain for the work of Jack Kirby. [Comics Comics]

Creators | Cartoonist Jeff Keane discusses the evolution of The Family Circus, IDW Publishing's new archival collection, and the future of newspapers. [ICv2.com]

Batman and Robin, by Frank Quitely

Creators | Thought Bubble interviews artists Frank Quitely and Charlie Adlard. "When you work on a title or character that everyone knows loads of people say 'I hate his Wolverine' or 'I hate his Superman' or whatever," Quitely says, "because it jars with their own favourite versions of the characters -- no one ever says 'I hate his We3 animals' because they didn’t start reading it with any preconceptions or prejudices. From that point of view it’s always easier to work on new stuff, or your own stuff, but I enjoy the challenge of getting to do well-known characters and I generally don’t really care if some folk don’t like what I do, it’s personal taste, and I’ve got a pretty thick skin." [via ArtPatient]

Creators | Collaborators Martin Conaghan and Will Pickering talk at length about their historical graphic novel Burke and Hare. [Forbidden Planet International]

Creators | Warren Ellis offers for download his scripts for issues of Fell, Desolation Jones and Ministry of Space. [Warren Ellis]

Webcomics | El Santo spotlights a handful of politically conservative webcomics. [The Webcomic Overlook]

Comics | The Son of Satan is back, baby! [The Cool Kids Table]

Friends of Lulu

The winners were announced this morning for the 2009 Friends of Lulu Awards, which recognize "the people and projects that helped to open eyes and minds to the amazing comic and cartooning work by and/or about women."

Nominees were selected by a panel of judges, with the winners voted on by the public.

The winners are:

Kim Yale Award for Best New Talent: Kate Beaton for Hark, A Vagrant

Lulu of the Year: Danielle Corsetto for Girls with Slingshots

Woman of Distinction: Joanne Carter Siegel

Leah Adezio Award for Best Kid-Friendly Work: Rapunzel’s Revenge, by Shannon Hale, Dean Hale and Nathan Hale

Female Comic Creator’s Hall of Fame: Gail Simone

Best Female Character: Monica Villarreal, from Wapsi Square by Paul Taylor

Brief biographies of each of the winners can be found here.

Stuck in the Middle

Libraries | There is, of course, follow-up on the decision by the Sioux Falls, South Dakota, to remove the anthology Stuck in the Middle: Seventeen Comics from an Unpleasant Age from middle-school libraries. Local CBS affiliate KELO reports on the reactions of parents and highlights some of the better-known challenged and banned books.

As we noted yesterday, teachers will still have access to the 2007 collection of stories about life as a teen-ager (by such contributors as Gabrielle Bell, Daniel Clowes, Joe Matt and Dash Shaw). That's because, in the words of School Board President Kent Alberty, "There is value in the book. One of the subjects addressed is bullying, something the district is very interested in making sure is handled appropriately, and the book does address that." [KELOLAND.com]

Publishing | Japan's NHK television network reports that publishing giant Shueisha, a co-owner of Viz Media, plans to develop plans to sell manga via mobile phones in the United States beginning in spring 2010. [Anime News Network]

eManga

Publishing | Digital Manga Publishing is seeking submissions of original manga, graphic novels, prose novels and short stories in all genres for its eManga manga-rental website. [About.com]

Publishing | Leyla Aker, a senior editorial manager at Viz Media, talks about the company's SigIKKI imprint. [Japanator]

Business | Peter Lauria draws a dotted line between Disney's not-yet-finalized purchase of Marvel (as well as the poor performance of A Christmas Carol) and the ongoing restructuring of Walt Disney Studios. [New York Post]

Passings | George Gene Gustines pens an obituary for Comic-Con co-founder Shel Dorf, while Mark Evanier addresses the estrangement between Dorf and event organizers. [The New York Times, News From Me]

Muramasa

Events | The Smithsonian's Freer and Sackler Galleries in Washington, D.C., on Friday kicks off a monthlong retrospective called "Osamu Tezuka: God of Manga, Father of Anime," featuring a discussion by manga scholar Frederik Schodt, film screenings and performances. The event's website also has downloadable essays by Schodt, Helen McCarthy and others. [Freer and Sackler Galleries]

Events | Todd Allen attended Saturday's discussion at the Chicago Humanities Festival by Jules Ffeifer, Matt Groening, Lynda Barry and Chris Ware: "The level of pessimism at this panel was a bit depressing. Nobody was really suggesting alternate venues. I think it was Barry that compared comics to having a baby and wanting the baby to make money and pay the rent. Ware went a step further, saying 'it’s a problem to make a living' and 'do it for yourself, don’t expect to make a living'." [Indignant Eclectica]

Retailing | This preview of a local signing by creators Brian Michael Bendis, Michael Avon Oeming and David Mack transforms into a very nice profile of Jermaine Exum, owner of Acme Comics in Greensboro, North Carolina. [News & Record]

Retailing | Georgetown University's news magazine provides a brief overview of Washington, D.C., comic stores. [The Georgetown Voice]

Luna Park

Creators | Author Kevin Baker and artist artist Danijel Zezelj discuss their Vertigo graphic novel Luna Park. [USA Today]

Creators | Cartoonist Art Baltazar is interviewed in advance of his appearance tonight at the University of Central Oklahoma. [UCO360]

Comics | Shaenon K. Garrity re-examines Scott McCloud's Zot!, and the nature of superheroes. [comiXology]

Internet | Time.com is shuttering its pop culture/sometimes-comics blog Nerd World and replacing in on Monday with Techland. [Nerd World]

Internet | Now that it's official, congratulations to Kiel Phegley on his well-deserved promotion to news editor of Comic Book Resources. [The Cool Kids Table]

Stuck in the Middle: Seventeen Comics from an Unpleasant Age

The school board in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, on Monday voted to remove the anthology Stuck in the Middle: Seventeen Comics from an Unpleasant Age from middle-school libraries.

The move, spurred by a parent's complaint that the graphic novel contained foul language, sexual references and depictions of teen smoking, reportedly marks the first time in at least eight years a book has been removed from the student collection. Teachers will continue to have access to the graphic novel, and (curiously?) may use it in class.

According to the Argus Leader, the board's decision came after a unanimous recommendation from a review committee composed of two teachers, two parents and an assistant principal.

A 2007 anthology published by Penguin's Viking Children imprint, Stuck in the Middle was edited by Ariel Schrag and contains contributions by Gabrielle Bell, Daniel Clowes, Joe Matt, Dash Shaw, Lauren Weinstein and others.

As the book's  title suggests, the stories focus on the highs and lows of life in seventh and eighth grade, from first loves to first zits. It was selected by the New York Public Library as one of its 2008 Books for the Teen Age.

The committee questioned whether middle-school students possess the maturity to see beyond the "objectionable language" in two or three of the stories and be able to glean a positive message.

In a statement provided to the Argus Leader Schrag said, in part:

In terms of foul language, sexual content, and teen smoking in this book, all the authors strove to present the teens and pre-teens in a realistic light. We may not like all of the decisions teenagers make, but if we sanitize their speech and behavior in our stories, our characters won't be authentic. Real teens and pre-teens sometimes use these words and say and do these things. A book like this can present a good opportunity for dialogue between children and parents. Banning the book isn't going to change children's behavior or somehow save them from the hard truths of teenage life - I find it very hard to believe that a child would hear a swear word for the very first time in the book, or that he or she would be made aware that teenagers sometimes have sexual relationships or smoke cigarettes. The only thing that can make an impact in the way children act is communication, and this book provides a platform for that.

This news comes just as we're learning more details about the library controversy in Jessamine County, Kentucky, involving access to The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Black Dossier and the subsequent firing of two circulation-desk attendants.

From "Girl," by Dana Simpson

Cartoonist Dana Simpson, creator of the webcomic Ozy and Millie, has won Amazon.com's first Comic Strip Superstar competition, beating out nine other finalists. Her entry, Girl, centers on an awkward child who feels at ease in the forest with her animal friends.

Simpson, who lives in Kent, Washington, will receive a publishing contract with Andrews McMeel Publishing, a development contract with Universal Uclick and syndication on Gocomics.com.

You can view Girl and the other finalists here.

(via ComixTalk)

Female Force: Princess Diana

Publishing | Just days after one U.K. newspaper devoted a lot of ink to a preview of Female Force: Princess Diana, another reports that the Bluewater Productions biography has been labeled as "disgusting" by a co-founder of a group dedicated to preserving Diana's memory. “Comic means something to laugh at," says Margaret Funnell of Diana Circle UK. "I don’t find it at all comical and I wish they hadn’t done it. Anyone with half a brain who had a love for Diana will hate it.” [Daily Express]

Publishing | Following the success of its adaptation of James Patterson's Maximum Ride, Yen Press has announced it will tackle the author's bestselling young-adult series Daniel X. The first volume will be released in summer 2010. [About.com]

Education | It seems like every year around this time an article makes the rounds about comic books improving early literacy. Here's the 2009 edition, courtesy of University of Illinois professor Carol L. Tilley, whose research on the subject was recently published in School Library Monthly. [News Bureau, Canwest News Service]

Genghis Con

Conventions | The Genghis Con small-press comic convention will debut on Nov. 28 in Cleveland, sliding into the Thanksgiving weekend slot long held by Mid-Ohio Con. The guest list so far includes Derf, Abhay Khosla, Andy MacDonald and Tom Williams. [Plain Dealer]

Creators | Moebius expresses his love for the work of Naoki Urasawa (Pluto, 20th Century Boys). [The Eastern Edge]

Creators | Eddie Campbell discusses Alec: "The Years Have Pants," blogging and process. [Library Journal]

Creators | Christopher Borelli covers a panel at the Chicago Humanities Festival featuring a conversation between longtime friends Lynda Barry and Matt Groening. [Chicago Tribune]

Creators | Here's another profile of Frank Beddor, author of The Looking Glass Wars fantasy novels and writer of the spin-off Hatter M comics. [Star-Tribune]

Creators | J. Torres chats briefly about writing Wall-E for BOOM! Studios' line of Disney/Pixar comics. [GeekDad]

Creators | Victoria Grabner profiles brothers Joshua and Jacob Hicks of Henderson, Kentucky, who have launched a line of Christian-themed comics. [The Gleaner]

New X-Men #114

Comics | David Brothers details how Grant Morrison ruined the X-Men: "Grant Morrison made the X-Men grown-up. He eschewed stereotypical supervillain stories until the tail end of his run, and even those stories were layered with a depth of character and nuance that kept them above generic megalomania. When Magneto nearly destroys New York as the culmination of his big plan, he’s forced to confront the fact that the personality he created to further his plan, the healer Xorn, is better liked and more effective than he could ever be. No one wants Magneto any more. Magneto is old and busted, Xorn is the new hotness." [4thletter!]

Comics | Graeme McMillan spotlights five genre comics that people should be reading. [io9.com]

Music | Art Brut frontman Eddie Argos talks about, among other things, the song "DC Comics and Milkshakes": "... I was reading a Booster Gold comic drinking a chocolate milkshake on a bus listening to the Replacements when I thought up that song. I had this wave of euphoria, like, 'DC Comics are so amazing.' I've read them all my life, and no matter what's going on -- if I had a bad breakup or a [expletive] job -- they always cheer me up. And they're cheap. They're only like 2 pounds, and a milkshake is 50 pence. So as long as I've got 2-pounds-50 on me, I'm kind of invincible." [Star-Tribune]