Comic Book Resources

A picture's worth a thousand words ...

Superhero Changing Station

Posterchild at Blade Diary has photos of a conveniently labeled superhero changing station in New York ... (Thanks David!)

Spider-Man's walk of shame

While The L.A. Times' Mel Melcon snaps some shots of Spider-Man's big arrest in Hollywood ... J. Jonah must be really proud right now.

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

The Pirate Bay

Legal | A new study claim the shutdown two months ago of file-trading site The Pirate Bay by Swedish authorities "significantly, if temporarily, disrupted" the illegal trafficking of digital files worldwide. The emphasis is on temporarily. The white paper, released by anti-piracy company DtecNet, found the closing forced traffic to flood other BitTorrent trackers, "causing temporary secondary outages" for several days.

The study finds that BitTorrent traffic is soon expected to return to levels seen before the shutdown, with relatively new website OpenBitTorrent emerging as the successor to The Pirate Bay. [The Live Feed]

Sales charts | R. Crumb's much-publicized adaptation of The Book of Genesis debuts at No. 8 on USA Today's bestseller list. Meanwhile, the 46th volume of Masashi Kishimoto's popular shonen series Naruto inches up three spaces to No. 136. [USA Today]

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It's all fun and games until a zombie gets punched in the face

The Walking Dead #17

One man in Iowa isn't waiting passively for the zombie horde to strike first.

Officers in Iowa City responded at 1:17 a.m. Sunday to a report of an assault at a restaurant, where the victim said he was ordering food when a man approached him, accused him of being a zombie and then punched him in the eye. (First clue the guy probably wasn't a zombie: The Panchero's menu doesn't feature brainssss.)

When the victim tried to use his cell phone to call police, the assailant hit him again, breaking his nose, and then fled through the back door of the restaurant. (Second clue the guy probably wasn't a zombie: The shambling dead have difficulty operating mobile devices.)

The victim was transported to a local hospital and treated for his injuries. (Third clue the guy probably wasn't a zombie: Health-insurance providers consider death a pre-existing condition.)

Police are looking for the assailant, while Iowa City Area CrimeStoppers offer a reward of up to $1,000 for information leading to his arrest.

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

Dragon Ball

Manga | Akira Toriyama's Dragon Ball has been officially removed from Wicomico County schools in Maryland following a committee review of the popular series. The announcement was made Thursday by Superintendent John Fredericksen, slightly more than a week after a parent's complaint about depictions of nudity and sexual situations in the first volume triggered the school board to pull the manga from library shelves.

The committee also is reviewing the all-ages Dragon Ball Z; Dragon Ball is rated for teens. Both titles are published in North America by Viz Media. The Wicomico County Public Library announced last week that it is conducting an "internal reconsideration" of Dragon Ball, pulling the series from circulation while it decides where the manga should be shelved.

And in a timely post, Jason Thompson, author of Manga: The Complete Guide, addresses the Dragon Ball dust-up and other issues for io9.com. [WBOC.com]

Publishing | Random House imprint David Fickling Books will publish three collections of comics from its canceled U.K. comics anthology The DFC. The books -- Mezolith by Adam Brockbank and Ben Haggarty; Good Dog, Bad Dog by Dave Shelton; and Spider Moon by Kate Brown -- will be released in March, April and May 2010. [Booktrade, via Forbidden Planet International]

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

Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood

Legal | Anime producer and distributor Funimation Entertainment issued a Digital Millennium Copyright Act takedown notice to the webhost of AnimesFree demanding that the fansub site remove more than 1,000 infringing episodes of more than 40 series. The site's administrator complied, and then complained about the company enforcing its copyrights: "AnimesFree.com will continue just as STRONGLY as it has been these past three months. Meeting everyone new on the website was great and I don’t intend for it to stop anytime soon. So we’re not going to quit just because of a few dozen series. There’s two things that you can do when a bully pushes you down. You either stay down and cower, or you stand back up and fight until you can’t walk anymore. There are just some things that the ‘Anime’ corporate giants will never understand about how people rely on online Anime communities." The commenters on the post aren't particularly sympathetic to the administrator's plight. [AnimesFree, via Deb Aoki]

Rich Hafstead

Retailing | Heidi MacDonald reports that Rich Hafstead, partner in the Jim Hanley's Universe chain in New York City, passed away Oct. 9. He had been semi-retired since suffering a heart attack in 2006. [The Beat]

Retailing | A 10-year-old girl is in a coma after she was trapped Tuesday under shelves that collapsed in a bookstore in Sapporo, Japan. The girl's 14-year-old sister also was injured. The store, Daily Books, sells secondhand manga and video games. [The Japan Times, The Mainichi Daily News]

Legal | In light of recent legal moves by the heirs of Jerry Siegel and Jack Kirby, Christopher Murray and Paul Iannicelli consider the termination provisions of the 1976 Copyright Act. [ Mondaq]

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

Disney Digital Books

Publishing | Disney is taking its children's storybooks digital with a subscription-based website that features electronic versions of more than 500 of the company's titles, from Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree to High School Musical. Online-exclusive content will be added by the end of the year.

The move by Disney, which sells 250 million children's books each year, seems to signal a belief that online subscriptions, and not devices like Kindle, is the direction in which this corner of the industry is heading. [The New York Times]

Conventions | Paid admissions to last weekend's Small Press Expo were 1,772, up 19 percent over the previous year. Heidi MacDonald and Sean T. Collins file their reports from the show. [SPX]

Conventions | Brigid Alverson, Erin Finnegan and Ada Price reports on the announcements and upbeat mood at New York Anime Festival. [PW Comics Week]

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Police search for missing Crayon Shin-chan creator

Crayon Shin-chan, Vol. 1

Anime News Network has word that Japanese police are searching for Crayon Shin-chan creator Yoshito Usui, who has been missing since Friday.

The investigation began on Saturday in Usui's hometown of Kasukabe, Saitama Prefecture, and has expanded to other jurisdictions. According to reports, neither Usui's family nor his publisher Futabasha has had contact with the 51-year-old mangaka.

Debuting in 1990, the popular Crayon Shin-chan follows the adventures of a rude, crude and rambunctious 5-year-old boy in Kasukabe who's obsessed with bodily functions and older girls. The manga was adapted as an animated television series in 1992, and has spawned 17 anime films.

The manga is published in North America by DC Comics' CMX imprint.

Chris Weston ... crimefighter?

from The Filth, by Chris Weston

He's collaborated with top industry writers to lend his highly detailed art to such memorable titles as Mark Millar's Swamp Thing run, Grant Morrison's The Filth, Warren Ellis's Ministry of Space, Joe Casey's Fantastic Four: First Family, and J. Michael Straczynski's The Twelve. But has artist Chris Weston's greatest contribution to the fight for truth and justice just taken place in the real world — where he just may have helped the cops catch a bank robber?

According to a post on his blog, Weston was waiting in line at the bank yesterday and doing what many artists do to kill time under such circumstances — meticulously observing the guy in front of him — when that guy proceeded to approach the teller and forcibly demand cash.  Weston writes:

By the time I realised what was happening he'd escaped with the loot. I gave my contact details to the bank and then ran like the wind back to my studio and set about hastlily drawing some pictures of the robber. I'd studied this guy quite intensely and could remember every detail of his likeness and clothes.

Weston then provided the sketches to the local constabulary, who reacted with near-disbelief: Apparently, the man in Weston's drawings perfectly matched a suspect they'd already picked up.

The sketches remain in the hands of the police, and since the case is pending Weston says he can't comment further. But he promises to scan and post the crime-busting portraits if and when he's given permission to do so. In the meantime, read the full story here and congratulate Chris for giving the filth a hand!

(Via Tom Spurgeon)

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

Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Vol. 1

Digital comics | By ICv2's tally, the number of mobile comics has nearly doubled in the past 60 days, jumping from 105 to 207. [ICv2.com]

Digital comics | AdHouse Books and Dark Horse Comics have announced new mobile comics. Dark Horse's first releases, available via iPhone, will be three Star Wars collections: Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Vol. 1 – Shipyards of Doom, Star Wars: Empire, Vol. 1 – Betrayal, and Star Wars: Legacy, Vol. 1 – Broken. Meanwhile, beginning today AdHouse will offer a preview of Vito Delsante and Rachel Freire's FCHS through the Comics by comiXology application. The print edition is set for release in November. [press release, press release]

Conventions | The Toronto Sun and The London Free Press preview Fan Expo Canada, which kicks off today. [Fan Expo Canada]

Conventions | Vanessa McCray previews Cherry Capital Con, which will be held Saturday and Sunday in Traverse City, Michigan. Guests include Tommy Lee Edwards, Jason Howard and Daniel Way. [Traverse City Record-Eagle]

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

Superman #1

Legal | A federal judge has ordered Warner Bros. and the heirs of Jerry Siegel to make another attempt at mediated settlement in their prolonged dispute over Superman. The parties will file a joint report on Sept. 18 outlining their efforts. [Jeff Trexler]

Crime | Authorities in Colorado say two brothers at the head of a massive methamphetamine ring were planning to use classic comic books to launder money. Police seized comics worth at least $500,000 when they arrested the suspects. [The Denver Post, The Associated Press]

Publishing | As Tokyopop gears up for its new online initiative, and King City finds new life this week at Image, Don MacPherson checks in with Brandon Graham and three other casualties of the manga publisher's 2008 implosion: Ross Campbell's The Abandoned, Eric Wight's My Dead Girlfriend and Becky Cloonan's East Coast Rising. [Eye on Comics]

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

Weird Fishes

Publishing | The cover story of this week's Metro Silicon Valley focuses on San Jose-based SLG Publishing, the state of the comics market and the company's upcoming lineup, including Winchester, Pinocchio: Vampire Slayer and Weird Fishes.

"The sale of a couple of thousand copies of an independent comic book is a great success now," says publisher Dan Vado. "There are fewer comic-book stores around since Amazon; indie comic-book shops are closing everywhere. The Chinese publishers, who used to turn up their noses at a small order of a couple of thousand books, are accepting them now. Comic-book publishers are having the same problem trying to find a digital business model as any other publishers, book or newspaper. Digital advertising doesn't pay like print advertising, and customers are installing ad-blocking software." [Metro Active]

Politics | Two Shanghai-based Iranians continue to defy government authorities with Persepolis 2.0, a webcomic that "remixes" and updates Marjane Satrapi's award-winning graphic novel with captions referring to this year's disputed election. Satrapi isn't involved with the project, but has given her blessing. [AFP]

Publishing | Jacq Cohen, publicity coordinator for Dark Horse, has been hired as a publicist by Fantagraphics Books. [The Comics Reporter]

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

Gene Colan

Creators | Legendary artist Gene Colan, who was recently hospitalized with pneumonia and other health issues, is expected to be sent home today. Colan, 82, will receive daily visits by a nurse for the next month. [Clifford Meth]

Events | Deb Aoki and Robert Selna cover the Saturday opening of the New People J-Pop complex in San Francisco's Japantown. The vision of Viz Media founder Seiji Horibuchi, the $15-million center is designed to serve as a hub for Japanese comics, animation, music, fashion and film. [New People]

Awards | Girl Genius creators Kaja and Phil Foglio deliver their Hugo Awards acceptance speech in comics form. Girl Genius, Vol. 8, was named Best Graphic Story at Worldcon. [Girl Genius Online]

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

Superman #1

Legal | A blog comment by publisher Denis Kitchen has led to another victory for the heirs of Jerry Siegel in their lengthy legal battle with Warner Bros. and DC Comics over the rights to Superman. A federal judge ruled Wednesday that the Siegels co-own the rights to Action Comics #4, pages 3-6 of Superman #1, and the first two weeks worth of Superman comic strips. The same judge decided in March that the Siegels own half of Action Comics #1 and, therefore, half the rights to Superman. [Blog@Newsarama]

Publishing | Tokyopop has announced it will serialize several of its original series online for free. Titles include Psy-Comm, Undertown, Kat & Mouse, Pantheon High and Gyakushu. [press release]

Publishing | Marc Mason, editor of Comics Waiting Room, has been hired to handle public relations for NBM Publishing. [NBM Publishing]

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Man burns down house after mother tosses out Gundam models

Mobile Suit Gundam 00

Leave it to Japan to one-up the World of Warcraft-freakout kid.

Anime News Network reports that police near Kobe have arrested a 29-year-old factory worker suspected of burning down his own home ... because his mother got rid of his "valuable" Gundam models.

Authorities say the man doused his room, and himself, with kerosene Sunday afternoon and, with a lighter, sparked the fire that engulfed his two-story house.

“My precious Gundam plamo were all thrown out by my mother," Sankaku Complex quotes the man as saying. "I thought I’d die, too.”

The man and his 55-year-old mother both escaped unharmed.

Robot reviews: Vertigo Crime

Filthy Rich

Filthy Rich
by Brian Azzarello and Victor Santos
Vertigo, 200 pages, $19.99

Dark Entries
by Ian Rankin and Werther Dell'edera
Vertigo, 216 pages, $19.99.

You've gotta give DC credit, they're constantly trying new things. Sure, a lot of their publishing experiments embarrassingly fall on the floor, but the very fact that they have such a lengthy track record of failed imprints -- Minx, Helix, Piranha, Paradox Press -- says something about the company's willingness to branch out. They're restless in their attempt to find new audiences.

Thus we now have Vertigo Crime, a sub-imprint of the current Vertigo line, consisting of stand-alone graphic novels filled with guns, girls and as much noir as you can possibly stand. The first two entries in the line -- Filthy Rich and Dark Entries -- will be out in stores this month (Aug. 19 and 25 to be exact). How do they hold up? Read on to find out.

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