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

I believe we've reached the pre-Thanksgiving industry slowdown.

Green Arrow: Year One

Internet | A website called the Home of the Green Arrow, which supports the far-right British National Party in its "fight to secure a future for the indigenous peoples of these islands in the North Atlantic which have been our homeland for millennia," has co-opted Jock's art from the DC Comics miniseries Green Arrow: Year One for its banner. "This is leaving a horrible taste in my mouth," the artist wrote this morning on Twitter. He has contacted DC's legal department. [Jock's Twitter feed]

Art | Frank Frazetta's original cover painting for the 1967 Lancer paperback edition of Conan the Conqueror sold at auction last week for a reported $1 million. That's nearly four times the previous record price for the artist's work -- $251,000 -- paid in 2008 for the cover to Edgar Rice Burroughs' Escape on Venus. [Spectrum Fantastic Art, via Sci Fi Wire]

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

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]

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

Blue Bloods: Masquerade

Publishing | Italian movie producer Domenico Procacci has purchased Bologna-based graphic novel publisher Coconino Press, adding it to his Fandango filmmaking and book-publishing company. In addition to its own titles, Coconino publishes the Italian editions of works by such artists as Charles Burns, Daniel Clowes, and Garon Tsuchiya and Nobuaki Minegishi. [Variety]

Publishing | Young-adult novelist Melissa de la Cruz has signed new contracts with Hyperion, the Disney Book Group imprint that publishes her bestselling Blue Bloods series. The deal calls for three companion books to the teen-vampire drama, including Blue Bloods: The Graphic Novel. [Variety]

The Last Unicorn

Publishing | IDW Publishing will adapt Peter Beagle's bestselling 1968 fantasy novel The Last Unicorn as a six-issue miniseries. The comic, by writer Peter B. Gillis, artist Renae De Liz and colorist Ray Dillon, will debut in April. [ICv2.com]

Publishing | Simon Jones offers commentary about declining manga sales in Japan: "Some blame was again placed at the industry’s increasing focus on niche genres (just as comics is a spandex ghetto, manga is facing a crisis of the moe slum), but I think this is being overstated as a cause, when it’s really a symptom that is self-feeding.  Manga sales have gone down … it could be lower birth rates, or competition from other media, or internet piracy (come on guys, we don’t need to couch this in flowery language), or any combination of those.  But it all comes down to fewer companies being able to produce mainstream products, because a growing segment of mainstream audiences are no longer willing to pay for them despite increasing demand." [Icarus Publishing]

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

Flight Explorer, Vol. 1

Publishing | Retailer Christopher Butcher catches word that Flight Explorer, the younger-readers spinoff of the long-running Flight anthology, is without a publishing home. Although the first volume, published in March 2008 by Villard, reportedly sold through its 20,000-copy first printing, editor Kazu Kibuishi tweeted last week that "the project remains orphaned." Butcher provides commentary on his blog. [Comics212]

Legal | Google and groups representing publishers and authors on Friday filed a revised settlement they hope will resolve a dispute over the Internet giant's controversial plans to make millions of out-of-print books available online.

The original agreement, created to resolve a 2005 lawsuit, was opposed by parties ranging from DC Comics to the U.S. Justice Department to the governments of France and Germany, who argued that its terms could violate copyright law. The revisions address the handling of orphan works, restrict the Google database to books published in the United States, Britain, Canada or Australia, and allow other companies to license the digital catalog.

U.S. District Judge Denny Chin is expected this week to set a date for a "fairness hearing" in which arguments about the settlements will be presented by b0th sides. [The New York Times]

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

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]

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

Wolverine: Old Man Logan

Publishing | Comic sales to the direct market fell 14 percent in October, versus the same month a year ago, resulting in the biggest decline since May. Sales of the Top 100 graphic novels plummeted 30 percent -- again due to the brisk sales of Watchmen last fall -- combining for an overall decline of 17 percent.

As we reported last week, DC Comics had the top six bestselling comics for the first time in four decades, with the fourth issue of its event miniseries Blackest Night coming in at No. 1 with an estimated 137,169 copies. Marvel's Wolverine: Old Man Logan hardcover collection topped the graphic novel chart with an estimated 7,347 copies.

The retailer-focused news and analysis site ICv2.com notes that Marvel's $3.99 titles continue to slip, with the third issues of Ultimate Comics Avengers and Ultimate Comics Spider-Man each shedding about 5,000 copies from the previous issue. Of course, they weren't the only ones to slide: 19 of the top 25 comics saw drop-offs in what the website describes as "a bearish month." [ICv2.com]

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

Green Lantern Corps #41

Publishing | Buoyed by its Blackest Night miniseries and tie-in books, DC Comics claimed the first six slots on Diamond Comic Distributors' Top 300 list of books sold to the direct market in October.

It's a rare occurrence, to be sure, but just how rare? Charts-watcher John Jackson Miller contends we have to travel back more than 40 years, to a time well before the direct market, to find when DC last had the six best-selling comics (as sold to retailers). Yes, 1968. The closest DC came in the direct-market era, according to Miller, was in April 1993, when the publisher held the top five positions.

But back to October 2009, when DC also narrowed the market gap with Marvel to the closest margin in some time: The competitors were separated by just 2.43 percent in unit share, and 2.68 percent in dollar share. [Diamond Comic Distributors, The Comics Chronicles]

Retailing | Borders Group announced Thursday it will close about 200 of its Waldenbooks, Borders Express and Borders Outlet stores in January. The retail chain has been steadily closing mall-based stores in its Waldenbooks Specialty Retail division since 2001. About 130 mall stores will remain once the downsizing is complete. [Publishers Weekly]

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

Tales of the TMNT #55

Publishing | Following the purchase last week of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles property by Viacom/Nickelodeon, Mirage Studios announced it will publish Tales of the TMNT at least through May 2010.

On the official website, cartoonist Dan Berger writes that co-creator Peter Laird retained an option to publish up to 18 TMNT comics a year. Elsewhere, writer Tristan Jones notes that the agreement only covers single issues "based on the current Mirage Universe stuff (eg: a continuation/conclusion to Volume 4)."

However, judging by comments made yesterday afternoon by Laird, it seems unlikely he will invoke that option in the near future: "One thing that is becoming clear to me is that, right now, I need to really step back from Turtle stuff. I am feeling strongly that I need to distance myself from the TMNT to truly grasp what has happened, and become accustomed to it. With that in mind, I have to say that it is likely that any new TMNT comics coming from me/Mirage (under the 'reserved rights' clause negotiated in the sale) are probably not going to be seen anytime soon. Although I do have the right to publish up to eighteen issues of TMNT comics per year, it is highly unlikely that I will do that right away. In all honesty, the idea of doing ANY new Turtle stuff right now leaves me cold." [NinjaTurtles.com]

Legal | A court has ordered South Korean cartoonist Choi to pay $17,000 to settle a dispute with Wonju City over a cartoon that included offensive words about President Lee Myung-bak. The city recalled about 20,000 copies of the promotional paper after readers discovered the hidden message. [The Korea Times]

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

American Booksellers Association

Retailing | The American Booksellers Association has asked the Department of Justice to investigate the online price war being waged by Wal-Mart, Amazon and Target. The trade group says that by selling advance-order hardcovers at deep discounts the three retail giants are engaging in "illegal predatory pricing" and making it impossible for smaller stores to compete.

Ron Catapano of Ron's Comic World in Mount Holly, New Jersey, asserts that direct-market retailers face a similar scenario: "I hope the comic publishers are paying attention. When the Watchmen movie came out and Amazon was selling the Watchmen trade paperback for less than I could get the book from Diamond Comic Distributors (including shipping cost), I complained and nobody cared. For most discounters, these books are not a significant part of their business, they are just something to make a few extra dollars on." [ICv2.com]

ChuChu

Publishing | Japanese publishing giant Shogakukan plans to close three of its magazines, including the shojo manga monthly ChuChu. The magazine debuted in December 2005 with a print run of 180,000, but more recently sales have hovered around 50,000 copies. [Anime News Network]

Libraries | The New Jersey State Library has awarded $3,000 grants to 14 libraries to help them establish and expand graphic-novel collections. The State Library also conducted workshops about developing collections, and furnished librarians with "a core graphic novel bibliography" to help them with their purchases. [NJ.com]

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

Longbox

Digital comics | Technology columnist Andy Ihnatko spotlights LongBox Digital, the much-anticipated "iTunes for comics," and claims he's "pretty sure" the company is entering into a "formal alliance" with Apple: "Comic-industry cluelessness and their inability to unite towards a common, mutual good are the two main reasons why we haven’t seen anything like LongBox before. But they probably haven’t been as serious a roadblock as the simple lack of any portable device that’s perfectly-suited to reading digital comics. This is a form of storytelling that needs a tablet. A big, page-sized color screen with lots of resolution and a touch interface for turning pages and navigating from panel to panel. Apple is rumored to be making one of those things. And they’re also rumored to be speaking with a great many high-profile print publishers about bringing their content to this new device." LongBox CEO Rantz Hoseley wouldn't confirm Ihnatko's Apple assertion. [Chicago Sun-Times]

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AdHouse Books cancels FCHS collection

FCHS

Writer Vito Delsante announced this morning on Twitter that, "due to low pre-orders," AdHouse Books won't be publishing FCHS, the webcomic-turned-graphic novel described as "Archie meets 90210."

The comic, by Delsante and artist Rachel Freire, debuted in December 2007 at the now-defunct Chemistry Set online collective, and caught the attention of AdHouse's Chris Pitzer the following summer. A 128-page collection was added to the publisher's fall 2009 schedule, and promoted online, at conventions and with a full-color Free Comic Book Day issue.

FCHS, Vol. 1, had been solicited for November release. Delsante spoke last month about the comic with Robot 6's Tim O'Shea.

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

Dragon Ball, Vol. 3

Manga | Wicomico County Public Library in Maryland is conducting an "internal reconsideration" of Akira Toriyama's Dragon Ball after the popular series was removed from a combined elementary/middle school library last week due to depictions of nudity and sexual situations. The public library has pulled the manga while it decides in what section the T-rated series should be shelved. [The Daily Times]

Publishing | Deb Aoki gets more details from Viz Media Senior Editor Eric Searleman about the publisher's relaunched original comics initiative, which began accepting submissions last week: "We're hoping to publish a wide range of comics by a diverse group of creators. A lot of people are expecting Viz Media to publish manga (or comics that look like manga) but we don't plan on limiting ourselves, in any way. It doesn't matter to us if you draw like Tite Kubo or Darwyn Cooke. If you've got an awesome idea for a comic book, we want to see it." Simon Jones provides commentary. [About.com, Icarus Publishing]

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

Dragon Ball

Manga | Wicomico County schools in Maryland removed all copies of Akira Toriyama's Dragon Ball from library shelves Wednesday after the mother of a fourth-grader complained about the nudity and sexual situations depicted in the first volume of the hit series. The manga, which sports an "All Ages" a T+ rating, is published in North America by Viz Media.

A committee of administrators and "people from outside the school system" will review books, but the schools superintendent will make the final decision on the fate of the series. At a Tuesday meeting of the County Council, one councilman distributed photocopies of scenes from Dragon Ball, describing some of the illustrations as "disgusting." [The Daily Times, The Daily Times]

Legal | An amended agreement between Google and the Authors Guild and the Association of American Publishers is expected to be filed by Friday to address concerns raised by the Google Book Search settlement. DC Comics is among the parties that object to the terms of the original deal, designed to resolve a 2005 lawsuit accusing the Internet giant of infringing on copyrights by digitizing out-of-print books without permission. [Publishers Weekly]

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You call it Diamond's 'skip week,' but they declare it Indy Comic Book Week

Indy Comic Book Week

A group of creators hopes to take advantage of Diamond's "skip week" -- the fifth week of December, when the distributor won't be shipping books -- by declaring it Indy Comic Book Week.

Describing it as "not only an event, but also a call to action," organizers hope to utilize Dec. 30 to promote independent comics to retailers.

"What some would call a sad week without our favorite mainstream titles, we are calling an opportunity," the website states. "This vacancy allows independent and small press comic book creators to claim this week as their own. We challenge writers and artists to self publish new material for this week, and offer it to their local stores. We ask for retailers to take this as an opportunity to showcase local independent talent on the new release shelves. We encourage fans to break from their buying habits and try something new."

The site provides details on how creators and retailers can participate -- five stores have signed on so far -- and offers resource and links for printing and promoting comics. There's also a production blog.

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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