Comic Book Resources

'How do you sell a million Spider-Man comics a month?'

Ron Richards at iFanboy posted an entertaining interview with Darwyn Cooke they did in San Diego last month. During the interview, Cooke talks about digital comics around the 16:40 mark, and says that Parker: The Hunter is heading to the iPhone -- it'll be broken into five chapters, with the first one being free:

(Thanks David!)

Straight for the art | Darwyn Cooke's Jonah Hex covers

Jonah Hex #50

DC Comics posts two covers by Darwyn Cooke for the upcoming 50th issue of Jonah Hex. And yes, Jonah Hex has made it to 50 issues, which is both surprising and delightful for a book that features cowboys, no crossovers and mostly "done in one" issues. No doubt the rotating cast of talented artists has helped, but the real secret sauce is the writing team.

You can see the other cover by following the link.

Robot reviews: The Hunter

The Hunter

Richard Stark's Parker Book One: The Hunter
Adapted and illustrated by Darwyn Cooke
IDW Publishing, 144 pages, $24.99.

While I've certainly always liked Darwyn Cooke's work, I can't say I ever loved it.

Don't get me wrong, there's no denying the man's talent or his dedication to the craft. But there's always been some hard-to-define barrier that prevented me from enjoying his work as much as others seem to.

It's hard for me to put a finger on what kept me from being fully engaged. Too much nostalgia for the past, both in terms of his Toth-like dynamism and forthright attitude towards superhero derring-do? Too slick and over-polished a style? Too mannered? Not enough grit and teeth? Whatever it was, I found myself being more of a distant admirer than a fan.

Now we have his latest work, Richard Stark's Parker: The Hunter. And while I may not be able to park myself in the Cooke fan camp yet, I think it's safe to say that with this stellar graphic novel, I'm steadily edging in that general direction.

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Darwyn Cooke on adapting Westlake's Parker: The Hunter

From "Parker: The Hunter," by Darwyn Cooke

Darwyn Cooke's adaptation of Donald Westlake's crime novel Parker: The Hunter gets some major play from The Los Angeles Times in this profile by Geoff Boucher.

It's a good article that moves from a brief overview of the recent resurgence of crime comics to Cooke's approach to the IDW graphic novel and his correspondence with Westlake, who passed away in December at age 75.

“One of the most valuable things in my professional life, one of the big gifts in my career, was the time I got to spend chatting with him through e-mail,” Cooke told the newspaper. “What I tried to do more than anything was to impress upon him my interest in one question: Where did other adaptations fail and what did they miss in the character. How can we get these things on the page?”

Parker: The Hunter received limited distribution last week, but will be available nationwide on Wednesday.

What are you reading?

Kurosagi Delivery Service Vol. 9

Is it Sunday again already? Time for another What Are You Reading then. Our guest this week is blogger and Bleach fanatic John Jakala. Has John been reading Bleach this week? Click on the link to find out. Oh, and don't forget to tell us what you are reading in the comments section below.

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Scott Dunbier talks about Parker distribution problems

Crime!

If you live on the West side of the United States, then good news -- your comics retailer should have received their copies of IDW's excellent Parker: The Hunter book by Darwyn Cooke this week.

If you live out East, well ... the news isn't so good. It's not terrible, mind you, but you'll have to wait until next Wednesday to pick up the book.

After seeing some buzz around the internet that some retailers didn't get their copies, I contacted IDW's Scott Dunbier, who clarified why part of the country didn't get it, as well as why Amazon was saying the book wouldn't ship until August.

JK: I've seen some excited reports around the 'net about retailers and fans receiving their copies of The Hunter this week. I've also seen some reports from retailers who didn't get their copies. What was the reason some retailers didn't get it this week?

Scott Dunbier: Yes, all the feedback we’ve received so far has been incredibly positive. But, as you point out, some shops didn’t receive the book this week, ones in the Eastern half of the country. The book was held up in customs for a couple of days, which threw distribution for a loop.

JK: Is there an update on when these shops will get their copies?

Scott: Every comic shop should have their copies by next week.

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IDW previews Darwyn Cooke's first Parker book

The Hunter

IDW has posted 19 pages from Darwyn Cooke's adaptation of The Hunter, the first in a series of graphic novels based on the Parker novels by Donald Westlake. Westlake wrote the novels under the pen name Richard Stark.

Check out the first three pages after the jump, or go to the IDW site to read all 19. The first scene is classic:

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A peek at Darwyn Cooke's Parker: The Hunter

Original artwork from "Parker: The Hunter," by Darwyn Cooke

James Sime of Isotope provides a glimpse of some gorgeous pages from Darwyn Cooke's highly anticipated adaptation of Richard Stark's Parker: The Hunter. Sime notes the cyan areas will be printed as gun-metal green.

The 144-page graphic novel is due in July from IDW Publishing.

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

From Promethea #39

Creators | Artist J.H. Williams III has posted a two-page spread from Promethea #39 under the cryptic title "Something is coming ..." Oddsmakers say it's an Absolute Edition of the well-regarded series by Williams and Alan Moore, published from 1999 to 2005 by America's Best Comics/Wildstorm. Too much to wish for?

Williams won't give any more details ... yet: "I can’t comment any further at this time. I’ll have something to say about it relatively soon." [J.H. Williams' blog]

Comics strips | Cartoonist Mike Peters talks about being sued by the Colombian coffee-producers association over a joke in his Mother Goose & Grimm strip: "... I am totally amazed at this. I'm an editorial cartoonist. I expect bad things from my editorial cartoons, not from my comic strip." [Comic Riffs]

Legal | Marvel Entertainment has sued MGA Entertainment, claiming the California-based toymaker overstepped the terms of its licensing agreement by producing merchandise based on Spider-Man and Ghost Rider, which were excluded from the agreement. MGA recently lost a legal battle with Mattel over ownership of those ubiquitous Bratz dolls. [Los Angeles Business Journal]

Sales charts | Still reaping the benefits of the buzz from the (judge willing) upcoming movie adaptation, Watchmen jumps 16 spots to No. 29 on USA Today's list of the Top 150 books. The collection of the 1986 DC Comics miniseries by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons is in its 25th week on the chart.

The 33rd volume of Masashi Kishimoto's Naruto, meanwhile, leaps 36 places to No. 68 in its second week. [USA Today]

The Hunter

Passings | Scott Timberg of The Los Angeles Times pens a tribute to novelist Donald E. Westlake, who passed away on New Year's Eve at age 75. Neil Gaiman and Christopher Mills also note Westlake's passing. Under the pseudonym Richard Stark, Westlake wrote some 20 crime novels about the professional thief Parker.

IDW Publisher and Editor-in-Chief Chris Ryall reveals the cover to Darwyn Cooke's graphic-novel adaptation of the first Parker book, The Hunter, which is due out in July: "For anyone who hasn't read any of Westlake's books, and especially his Parker novels written under the name Richard Stark, hopefully this project coming next summer kickstarts some new interest in his novels." [The Los Angeles Times]

Webcomics | Lyle Masaki profiles a handful of gay-themed webcomics, and webcomics with gay characters. [AfterElton.com]

Art and design | Comics artist Jock (The Losers, Green Arrow: Year One) has created concept art for the upcoming Judge Dredd movie. [io9.com]