Comic Book Resources

SDCC '09 | Charity auctions, panels, hookups, scalping and more

Comic-Con

The 2009 San Diego Comic-Con kicks off with preview night on Wednesday, July 22 and runs through Sunday, July 26. If you are a publisher, creator, retailer or any other kind of exhibitor who would like to let folks know about any special plans you have for the show (panels, signing schedules, exclusives, debuts, etc.) drop me an email and I'll run it here.

Organizations | The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund and Things From Another World have teamed up to create a set of limited edition cards by various comic creators that will be handed out by various publishers, the CBLDF and TFAW. The original artwork for the cards will be auctioned off at the con, with proceeds going to the fund. Contributors include Mike Mignola, Phil Hester, Eric Powell, Gabriel Bá, Fábio Moon, Steve Lieber and many more.

Panels | Although the official programming schedule hasn't been released yet, a few companies have started sharing their panels via press releases and such. Thursday at the con brings a panel on Disney animator Walt Stanchfield, who is profiled in a new book called Drawn to Life: 20 Golden Years of Disney Master Classes.

Also, FOX TV has released their schedule. They'll have panels dedicated to the Simpsons, Family Guy, The Cleveland Show (a Family Guy spinoff), 24, Futurama and Bones. They'll also have Joss Whedon and Eliza Dushku on hand to introduce a never before seen episode of Dollhouse. And they'll have a panel dedicated to their new show Glee, where they'll show another episode. You can watch the first one on Hulu; it is hilarious.

Interestingly enough, the release doesn't mention Fringe, but there will be a panel with several members of the cast.

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Food or Comics | A roundup of money-related news

• Matt Price reports that "not all was rosy" in Memphis, Tenn., this week at the start of the annual meeting of ComicsPRO, the direct-market trade organization: "The overall economic slump had affected some locations. Furthermore, logistic problems with a large supplier have become more pronounced in recent weeks. And, something on many stores’ minds is the question of how digital content will impact the comic book industry."

The theme of this year's meeting, which continues today, is "Rising to the Challenge."

"If the economy weakens ... we have to remain strong," organization President Joe Field said. "While there are things we can't control, we have to work on the things we can control."

• At ICv2.com, Phil Foglio discusses the economics of moving Girl Genius online.

• Bookstore chain Books-A-Million announced its fourth-quarter sales fell 2.5 percent over the same period, to $164 million.

• Tribune Media Services filed a lawsuit Thursday asking a bankruptcy judge to declare that the company, and not actor Warren Beatty, owns the television and movie rights to comic strip detective Dick Tracy.

Parent corporation Tribune Co., which filed for federal bankruptcy protection in December, has been feuding with Beatty for years. The actor acquired the rights to the character in 1985, and made the Dick Tracy movie in 1990.

According to Tribune Co., Beatty was required to produce another movie or TV project in order to retain the rights. In a lawsuit filed back in November, Beatty claims he began work on a TV special, satisfying the terms of the agreement.

• Dick McVengeance offers tips on how to save money on manga and anime purchases.

• Matt Alt takes a look at the financial state of Japan's anime industry.

• The global recession seems to have had little effect on the Tokyo International Anime Fair, which drew more than 100,000 people.

Wildstorm adds creator-driven titles, offers Planetary update

Wildstorm

As the annual meeting of ComicsPRO continues in Memphis, Tenn., DC Comics has announced a new creator-driven lineup from Wildstorm.

Matt Price reports the imprint will add miniseries from Aaron Williams and Fiona Staples, Dave Tischman and Philip Bond, David Lapham, and Jeff Mariotte. Sparse title details can be found at the link.

In addition to the news about Grant Morrison and Jim Lee's Wildcats, Wildstorm's Hank Kanalz announced that Morrison's Authority will be finished by Keith Giffen and "a variety of artists," and that Warren Ellis and John Cassaday's Planetary #27 -- the series finale -- should ship sometime this year.

DC confirms next weekly series, Wednesday Comics

Hawkman, by Kyle Baker

DC Comics confirmed today that its next weekly series will be Wednesday Comics, a title and format designed to evoke the Sunday comics section.

The 12-part series, which launches this summer, will be presented in a broadsheet format that unfolds from traditional comic-book size. According to blogger Matt Price, each issue will be 16 pages and contain 15 serialized stories.

The details were revealed in Memphis, Tenn., at the annual meeting of the direct-market trade organization ComicsPRO.

Although rumors have circulated for a while online about Wednesday Comics, thanks largely to Kyle Baker's Hawkman pages, today was the first official word from the publisher.

Other creators linked to specific characters are Brian Azzarello and Eduardo Risso on a Batman, Neil Gaiman and Michael Allred on Metamorpho, Jimmy Palmiotti and Amanda Conner on Supergirl, and Joe Kubert on Sgt. Rock. Additional names include John Arcudi, Lee Bermejo, Dave Bullock, Kurt Busiek, Dave Gibbons, Paul Pope, Ryan Sook and Walt Simonson.

Wednesday Comics also will include stories starring Catwoman, Deadman, Demon, The Flash, Kamandi, Metal Man, Supergirl and the Teen Titans, among others.

More DC Comics news from the ComicsPRO meeting:

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