Comic Book Resources

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

Akira, Vol. 1

Publishing | Kodansha confirms what virtually everyone has known for quite a while now: that the publisher -- Japan's largest -- is setting up shop in the United States, establishing an office in New York City. Kodansha USA Publishing will launch Kodansha Comics with Katsuhiro Otomo's Akira and Shirow Masamune's Ghost in the Shell, two titles that had been licensed in North America by Dark Horse. The company will focus on translating its sizable backlist, but views original publishing as one of its "eventual ambitions." David Welsh provides a little commentary. [Publishers Weekly]

Publishing | BOOM! Studios has signed a deal with Haven Distributors to distribute second printings of all of the publisher's monthly titles to direct-market retailers. [BOOM! Studios]

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Will the real Comic-Con Twitter feed please stand up?

Twitter users looking to find official information on July’s Comic-Con International in San Diego may be a little confused.

First, there’s @Comic_Con, the official Twitter feed that’s run by the organization. But there’s also another feed, @SD_Comic_Con, that appears to be run by someone with the convention as well. David Glanzer, director of marketing and public relations for Comic-Con International, says the second one isn’t legitimate.

“It appears some of this information may have been gathered from our committee and board meetings,” he said. “The problem here is multifold. First of all, that site ISN'T official. The person running that site ISN'T an employee and the information given is speculative at best."

Glanzer said this could lead to problems for the con, as the leaked information could effect their relationships with potential guests.

"There may be things that will come to pass, however, some of the information is just random thoughts that have been expressed at meetings for which no official dialogue has been established," Glanzer said. "Confirming guests and events that we haven't confirmed may actually have the opposite effect. To 'leak' info can jeopardize relationships we have with the individuals and companies who may have planned to attend the show."

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Thursday passes sell out for Comic-Con International

Comic-Con memberships

With just more than two months to go until the doors open on Comic-Con International, Thursday passes have sold out for the four-day convention.

Passes for Sunday, the only remaining day, hover at 78 percent as of this morning.

Four-day memberships for the July 23-26 event sold out in mid-March, followed by Saturday passes in early April, and Friday around April 20.

In 2008, Comic-Con completely sold out a little more than a week before the opening. The way things are going, it doesn't look as if it will take that long this year.

Nominees announced for 2009 Manning Award

Stinky

The nominees were announced this morning for the Russ Manning Promising Newcomer Award, which has been presented at Comic-Con since 1982.

Named for the late Russ Manning, who created Magnus, Robot Fighter and illustrated such comic strips as Star Wars and Tarzan, the award is presented to an artist "who, early in his or her career, shows a superior knowledge and ability in the art of creating comics."

This year's nominees are:

• Gregory Baldwin, writer/artist of Path (published by com.x Ltd)
• Eleanor Davis, writer/artist of Stinky (published by RAW Junior/Toon Books)
• Leigh Kellogg, artist of Wayfarer's Moon (Single Edge Studios)
• Lukas Ketner, artist of Witchdoctor (self-published)
• Christian Slade, artist of Korgi (published by Top Shelf)

The winner will be announced July 24 during the Eisner Awards ceremony at Comic-Con International.

More than three months out, Friday sells out at Comic-Con

Comic-Con International

With more than three months to go before the convention doors open, Friday passes have sold out for the July 23-26 Comic-Con International.

They join Saturday passes, which sold out about two weeks ago, and four-day memberships, which went the way of the dodo in mid-March. As of the time of this post, Thursday passes are at 45 percent, and Sunday at 41 percent.

Last year Comic-Con completely sold out a little more than a week before the opening. This year looks like it will sell out long before then, recession be damned.

Food or Comics | Money, comics and the economy

Comic-Con memberships

• I'm not sure when it happened, but when I wasn't looking Saturday passes sold out for Comic-Con International. Four-day passes went the way of the dodo in mid-March; Friday passes are at 60 percent.

• Calvin Reid talks with Asylum Press Publisher Frank Forte about his efforts to sell Fearless Dawn #1 directly to retailers after failing to meet Diamond Comic Distributors' order minimum: "Some stores love the 60% discount and are willing to deal direct. But to be effective in self-distribution you have to be tenacious. You are dealing with a lot of walls. Stores don't want to deal with an extra invoice for 10 copies of a $2.95 comic."

• The Bookseller reports that U.K. comics anthology The DFC, which mailed its final issue last week, could return in some form next year -- thanks, in large part, to the growing sales of graphic novels.

• John Jackson Miller provides a brief overview of the "Dawn of the Diamond-Exclusive Era" of comics in the mid-1990s.

• Bookslut profiles Gabe Fowler of the year-old Desert Island in Brooklyn, N.Y., dwelling a bit on the economy: "I basically opened at the worst possible time, at the beginning of the so-called recession, so if I can survive now that's probably a good sign."

• Sean Kleefeld considers how to market comics in the 21st century.

• Alexander Hoffman offers tips on expanding your manga collection in lean economic times. (via Dirk Deppey)

The race is on, and it looks like heartache

The Oklahoma Land Rush of 1889

If you're planning to attend Comic-Con International, you likely need no reminder. But just in case: Hotel reservations open today at 9 a.m. PDT, noon EDT, via Travel Planners.

The Comic-Con website cautions: "Hotels do not allot enough rooms to meet the demand of everyone who wants to attend Comic-Con International. Rooms do fill up within the first few hours so you may want to book a room directly with the hotel of your choice now." So ... yeah.

The list of hotels can be found here.

As we noted on Monday, four-day passes to the con already have sold out. And Saturday is at 39 percent, with four months still to go. Today's not going to be pretty. Expect the Twitter accounts of comics folks to be littered with profanities -- well, more than usual -- beginning in about three hours.

Food or Comics | A roundup of money-related news

Comic-Con International

• Recession? What recession? Four-day passes already have sold out for the July 23-26 Comic-Con International.

The convention's hotel-reservation service opens at 9 a.m. PDT Thursday, kicking off the annual scramble for rooms.

• John Dolmayan, drummer for System of a Down, bought a rare copy of Action Comics #1 for $317,200 in an online auction. Only about 100 copies of the 1938 comic are known to exist.

• In the latest "My Cup o' Joe" column, Marvel Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada talks a little about free comics -- in print and online -- and fighting the urge to return to the Obama well to sell more copies: "We’ve resisted the temptation to keep pushing that lever — and believe me, it became a very tempting lever when we got the sales figures on that issue! — because there does come a point when it can quickly become less about story and more about marketing. We tend to shy away from the tail wagging the dog, and I think we’ve done a pretty good job of that in my tenure. We really don’t create the marketing and say, 'Okay, now go create a story for this.' It’s just something we don’t like to do. I’m sure Obama will appear over the next four years, but we’re more concerned about selling our books based on our characters, and doing interesting stories with them."

• In his column at Comic Book Resources, Steven Grant considers what the "fantasy economy" of conventions is telling us about the current comics market: "For many indie publishers, comic-cons -- not necessarily San Diego, where the competition for attention is much fiercer, but the new breed of large regional cons -- are becoming the new prime marketplace, where a new crop of eager buyers, many of whom apparently now feel disenfranchised from the direct market, are eager for new comics in various formats, if they can see in advance what they're buying."

• For this article about a nationwide "graphic-novel sales boom," the Port Huron, Michigan, Times-Herald turns to retailer Jason Sawyer ... who doesn't stock many graphic novels: "He said he doesn't see the point in trying to compete with Barnes & Noble."