indy comics
Toronto Comic Arts Festival announces 2012 lineup
The Toronto Comic Arts Festival, one of the high points of the indy comics year, has announced the first round of guests for this year. It doesn’t seem to be up on the TCAF site just yet, but Tom Spurgeon has the rundown at The Comics Reporter, and it’s an impressive list: Jeff Smith, Alison Bechdel, Guy Delisle, and Gabriel Bá and Fábio Moon are the headliners. Smith will be celebrating the 20th anniversary of Bone, while Bechdel’s Are You My Mother? and Delisle’s Jerusalem are both due out shortly before the show.
But wait! There’s more! Kate Beaton, German creator Arne Bellstorf, Scottish creator Tom Gauld (whose Goliath is due out soon from Drawn and Quarterly) Gabriella Giandelli, Jennifer and Matt Holm (Babymouse), Jason, Kazu Kibuishi (creator of Amulet and editor of the Flight anthologies), Bryan Lee O’Malley (Scott Pilgrim), Gary Panter, Michel Rabagliati, Andy Runton (Owly), Olivier Schrauwen, and Adam Warren (Empowered) will also be gracing the halls of the Toronto Reference Library this May. That’s an amazingly eclectic and talented group. If you have been thinking “Some day I’ll make it to TCAF,” this should probably be the year.
- January 23, 2012 @ 08:00 AM by Brigid Alverson
The demise of Haven: The rest of the story
Haven Distributors
It has been about a month since Haven Distributors closed its doors, and Lance Stahlberg, the director of the company, explains why: The owner didn’t invest in the business.
The business did not fail because our discounts were too low, or because there is no room in the market. DC’s new 52 had no impact on us at all. I just couldn’t reach out to enough retailers when I was the guy placing orders, managing inventory, and packing the damn boxes by myself for most of the company’s lifespan. The vast majority of those customers who did make the leap away from the big D became avidly loyal supporters. It was getting more to break their inertia and start thinking differently that took more time than I had when I was juggling so much by myself. Then at points when we were starting to get ahead, that’s when Mr. Magoo would turn off the tap and I had to return to bootstrap financing. And all sense of progress went up in a puff of smoke.
There’s a lot more at the link, but the bottom line is that Stahlberg sees a lot of potential for a second distributor that focuses on independent comics, but without the resources he needed to run the business, he couldn’t reach that potential. “I simply never had the capital that I needed to expand, or to take advantage of any momentum that I managed to pick up,” he says.
That’s not quite the end of the story, though: Stahlberg says that someone else is planning to enter the indy-comics distribution biz—and hopefully this time they will have the financing they need to run the business properly.
- November 14, 2011 @ 11:00 AM by Brigid Alverson
Comics A.M. | Stan Lee to receive visual-effects award
Stan Lee
Awards | The Visual Effects Society has named Stan Lee as the recipient of the VES 2012 Lifetime Achievement Award, which honors individuals whose “lifetime body of work has made a significant and lasting contribution to the art and/or science of the visual effects industry by way of artistry, invention and/or groundbreaking work.” Previous recipients include George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, Ray Harryhausen and James Cameron. The award will be presented Feb. 7 at the 10th annual VES Awards. [press release]
Organizations | The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund reports it raised $12,500 last weekend at New York Comic Con. [CBLDF]
Awards | Comic-Con International has opened nominations for the The Will Eisner Spirit of Comics Retailer Award, which awarded to “an individual retailer who has done an outstanding job of supporting the comics art medium both in the community and within the industry at large.” [CCI]
- October 20, 2011 @ 06:55 AM by Brigid Alverson and JK Parkin
Ryan Mita on the making of Minimum Paige
One of the most intriguing comics I picked up at the Massachusetts Independent Comics Expo a few weeks back was Minimum Paige, an anthology produced by the Harvard Bookstore and printed in-house on their print-on-demand machine, Paige M. Gutenborg. I checked in with editor Ryan Mita to get the story behind the stories.
Brigid Alverson: First of all, tell me about Paige M. Gutenborg—what is it and what can it do?
Ryan Mita: Paige M. Gutenborg is a book machine and fantastic opportunity for artists to custom print their works. Books must be over 40 pages long, there is no minimum print run and artists can design the book anyway they like.
In addition to custom printing, Paige can print nearly five million titles, including Google Books in the public domain, and later this fall, HarperCollins will make 5,000 backlist titles available.
We’re excited about the future of bookselling and Paige keeps Harvard Book Store a step ahead.
- October 14, 2011 @ 01:00 PM by Brigid Alverson
Comics A.M. | DC, Marvel tease big announcements as NYCC looms
New York Comic Con
Conventions | The New York Post previews this week’s New York Comic Con in a pair of articles, the second of which focuses on announcements from Marvel and DC. Marvel’s “Cup O’ Joe” panel will reveal how Fear Itself, Avengers: The Children’s Crusade and X-Men: Schism tie together, while DC plans to reveal “the surprising origin of a longtime member of the Justice League” and more creators who will work on their New 52 books, in addition to Andy Kubert. Update: Presumably the Justice League member with the surprising origin is Wonder Woman. [New York Post article #1, article #2]
Comics | Not surprisingly, DC saw double-digit increases in September compared to the year before, but the overall market was down a touch as graphic novel sales, lacking this year’s equivalent of Scott Pilgrim, were down. [The Comichron]
Business | Disney CEO Robert Iger, who oversaw the company’s purchase of both Marvel Entertainment and Pixar, will step down as CEO in March 2015. [Bloomberg]
- October 10, 2011 @ 06:55 AM by Brigid Alverson and JK Parkin
Chicago gets its own indy comics show
The East Coast has MoCCA and SPX, the West Coast has Stumptown and APE, and now there’s a show for the middle of the country as well: The Chicago Alternative Comics Expo, or C.A.K.E.:
Taking place June 16th and 17th at Columbia College’s Ludington Building, CAKE is focused on celebrating independent and alternative comics of all stripes.
The festival plans to feature over 100 exhibitors along with a two-day program of signings, panels, workshops and lectures. With Chicago’s long legacy as a stronghold for underground and alternative comics, the Windy City is an ideal locale to showcase some of the most wild, weird and wonderful contemporary comics talent.
Yes to all this! There’s a lot of comics talent in the Midwest, and while I selfishly want them to keep coming to MoCCA, it’s great that there’s a show that will be closer to home for many creators and will bring in a whole new audience. I was impressed with the number of local creators at C2E2, and this show (which will be curated) will be an opportunity to see even more (not to mention an excuse to visit one of my favorite cities). No guests have been announced yet, but it’s early days, so stay tuned.
- August 19, 2011 @ 01:00 PM by Brigid Alverson
Best bets and digital deals | Superman, Star Wars, and Black Butler
There are a lot of digital bargains running around in this post-SDCC week, and some new digital releases that look tasty as well. Let’s start with a good one that won’t last: ComiXology is having a Superman 101 sale, starting at midnight (EST) on Friday, and running through Sunday. You can brief yourself on the Man of Steel with 99-cent issues of Action Comics #1 (Superman’s debut), The Man of Steel #1-6, Superman: Secret Origin #1-6, and more including the first appearances of Jimmy Olsen, Lex Luthor, and Supergirl.
In case you missed it in the rush of SDCC news, Dark Horse is now releasing Star Wars comics on its digital app, and they are posting Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic #1 and Star Wars: The Clone Wars #1 for free to celebrate.
New free comics on comiXology include (links are to the comics on their web reader): Batman: Gotham Knights #1, Impulse #1, Robin #1, Titanium Rain #1, and a bunch of previews. And there’s the third chapter of the Rise of the Planet of the Apes prequel from BOOM! Studios—the whole thing is free, so you might as well go back and get the earlier chapters as well.
Free comics on Graphicly include Carpe Chaos: Rising Up #1, The Devil Died Different #1, and a preview of Eye Witness, which “combines a Biblical adaptation, with a modern day action-thriller.”
- July 29, 2011 @ 03:00 PM by Brigid Alverson
Make mine MoCCA: Creators and small press
Of course, the really great thing about this weekend’s MoCCA Festival is the huge flock of individual creators who go there to show off their work. Here’s the full list, and here are a few of the highlights that jumped out at me. Feel free to point out the good stuff I missed in the comments section.
Cathy Leamy will be at the Boston Comics Roundtable table with her brand-new diary comic What’s the Word?, a collection of her diary comics from Metrokitty.
Neil Kleid will happily sign copies of his comics, mini-comics, and graphic novels (The Big Kahn, Brownsville), and anything else he has work in (including the Fraggle Rock anthology), but if you really want to make his day, bring him an obscure soda.
Stephanie Yue, who illustrates the Guinea Pig: Pet Shop Private Eye graphic novels (not just adorable, but funny for both adults and kids) will be there, as will her editor Carol Burrell, who draws SPQR Blues under the nickname Klio.
Rica Takashima will have a special doujinshi just for MoCCA. Rica is a yuri (lesbian) manga creator and the author of the much-acclaimed Rica ‘tte Kanji?, which Shaenon Garrity described, approvingly, as “as cute as a blender full of kittens.”
If your tastes tend more toward the retro-bizzare, check out Coin Op Studio, which will be debuting the charmingly titled Coin Op No. 3: Municipal Parking and Waterfall at the show.
- April 8, 2011 @ 11:00 AM by Brigid Alverson
Digital comics: What’s hot on the small screen
The digital comics scene continues to be a bit of a mishmash.
Every week, I get an e-mail from comiXology listing all of its new issues for the week, but the order seems to be somewhere between alphabetical and random. Viz Media also does a nice job of letting me know what’s new on its app. Graphicly sends a chatty e-mail featuring a couple of titles, but the company doesn’t put them front and center in its app, so I have to go looking for them (and it’s not the most intuitive interface). And while I know the iVerse folks have been busy, they don’t update their blog or (as far as I can tell) send out e-mails. This is all my way of saying that while the following may seem heavy on comiXology content, that’s not because I’m biased — it’s because comiXology has more titles and is doing a better job of promoting them.
That said, I thought it would be helpful to sift through this week’s offerings and pull out some good weekend reading.
A couple of classic series are debuting on comiXology this week. Having attended both the Vertigo panel and the Bill Willingham spotlight panel at C2E2, I was interested in seeing more of Fables, so it’s a happy coincidence that Jack of Fables #1 is up there for free. It’s just as clever as the main series, and Tony Akins’ supple penciling is a treat for the eyes. (One of the things I enjoy about Fables is that there is plenty of eye candy for the ladies as well as the guys.) Sometimes the free samples are kind of mingy, but not here: This is the whole first issue of Jack of Fables, and if that whets your appetite, Issue 2 is up there for $1.99.
Also new this week, although, sadly, not free, is Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely’s Batman and Robin. The first six issues, comprising two complete story arcs, are up this week.
- April 1, 2011 @ 09:30 AM by Brigid Alverson
Check out the latest round of Xeric winners
We all seem to have missed this, but The Comics Reporter caught it: This year’s Xeric Grant winners were announced a little while ago. And they are…
- Nick Maandag for Streakers (possibly NSFW)
- Melissa Mendes for Freddy Stories
- John Martz for Heaven All Day
- Kevin Mutch for Fantastic Life
- Brendan Leach for The Pterodactyl Hunters (in the Guilded City)
- Steve LeCouilliard for Much the Miller’s Son
- Benjamin Rivers for Snow
Established by Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles co-creator Peter Laird, the Xeric Foundation gives grants to comics creators to finance self-publishing their work. Previous winners include Adrian Tomine, Megan Kelso, Jessica Abel, Linda Medley, James Sturm, Jim Ottaviani, Nick Bertozzi, Jeff Lemire, and Gene Yang, which suggests that the judges do a pretty good job of picking grant recipients.
- February 21, 2011 @ 10:30 AM by Brigid Alverson
Global manga: Time to stop the hatin’ (and start creatin’)
Tokyopop alumna Svetlana Chmakova
Former Tokyopop editor Tim Beedle has a thought-provoking piece on his blog about the antipathy most publishers still harbor toward manga-influenced art. Back when Tokyopop was publishing global manga, it was fashionable in manga circles to pooh-pooh it on the grounds that it wasn’t Japanese, and some of the books were weak. However, many of the creators have gone on to do very strong work. Unfortunately, they have had to switch styles to do so.
Tim thinks that’s a shame (as do I), and here’s why:
At New York Comic-Con last month, I was introduced to a ridiculously talented manga-influenced artist. She showed me her latest comic (which she had self-published), and after seeing how skilled she is, I thought about a few of the projects I’m working on that are in need of artists. I asked her if she only drew in a manga style, and she said yes. It was the only way of drawing that she really felt passionate about. I remember looking down at some of the comics in front of me, shaking my head, and telling her that unfortunately, I didn’t have any opportunities for her right now. None of the publishers I’m working with are interested in publishing comics drawn in a manga-influenced style. She smiled and said she understood, and that it’s something she’s heard before.
Tokyopop’s original global manga didn’t sell well, probably because the publisher’s audience was only interested in Japanese works, and these books didn’t pretend to be Japanese. Unlike some other global manga, they were mostly set in the U.S. and didn’t pick up on cultural tropes like schoolgirls and ninjas. On the other hand, potential readers (indie and western comics fans) were put off by the manga label. These books probably would have done better if they were published by a Top Shelf or an Oni Press. Here’s hoping the creators get more opportunities in the future.
(Via The Manga Critic)
- November 5, 2010 @ 12:00 PM by Brigid Alverson
Make your plans: Intervention vs. SPX this weekend
If you’re in the Baltimore area this weekend, you will have an embarrassment of riches to choose from: Small Press Expo, which is just what it sounds like, and Intervention, a brand-new webcomics convention, both will be going on. And you don’t even have to decide between them; as Intervention organizer Onezumi Hartsein points out, you can do both:
A lot of people are doing both since we are in walking distance from each other. SPX seems to focus more on print and close around 5 or 6pm. We are all Internet and have huge events running until at least 3 AM. It’s almost like the yin and yang of comics. Some fans have nicknamed this weekend, “Comicspalooza”
Guests at Intervention include Fred Gallagher, Molly Crabapple and Ben Bova (who was recently rather critical of comics … hmmm), and activities will include not only webcomics panels but a class on WordPress and ComicPress taught by the developer of ComicPress. SPX will feature Richard Thompson, Nate Powell and R. Sikoryak.
Still can’t choose? Intervention press agent Brian Lynch lays out the options this way for Wired’s Geek Dad blog:
“we’re the only con to ever host a two-night, Cthulhu-themed goth/industrial dance party, replete with cosplaying go-go dancers. Alternately, I hear that SPX has a very nice chocolate fountain …”
- September 6, 2010 @ 10:00 AM by Brigid Alverson
Ignatz nominations are out
Julia Gfrörer's Flesh and Bone
Nominations for the Ignatz Awards, which go to outstanding independent comics, were released today at the Small Press Expo site; the awards will be presented at SPX on Sept. 11. Here’s the list:
Outstanding Artist
Eddie Campbell, Alec: The Years Have Pants (A Life-Sized Omnibus) (Top Shelf Productions)
Al Columbia, Pim & Francie: The Golden Bear Days (Fantagraphics Books)
Mike Dawson, Troop 142 (self-published)
John Pham, Sublife #2 (Fantagraphics Books)
Sully, The Hipless Boy (Conundrum Press)
Outstanding Anthology or Collection
The Hipless Boy, Sully (Conundrum Press)
Lemon Styles, David King (Sparkplug Comic Books)
Masterpiece Comics, R. Sikoryak (Drawn & Quarterly)
Red Snow, Susumu Katsumata (Drawn & Quarterly)
Ten Thousand Things to Do, Jesse Reklaw (self-published)
Outstanding Graphic Novel
The Complete Jack Survives, Jerry Moriarty (Buentaventura Press)
Market Day, James Sturm (Drawn & Quarterly)
Pim & Francie: The Golden Bear Days, Al Columbia (Fantagraphics Books)
Summit of the Gods Vol. 1, Yumemakura Baku and Jiro Taniguchi (Fanfare/Ponent Mon)
Years of the Elephant, Willy Linthout (Fanfare/Ponent Mon)
- August 19, 2010 @ 07:30 PM by Brigid Alverson
Start reading now: New, improved Wizzywig
A panel from the first page of Wizzywig
Drawn in an underground-comix style reminiscent of the old Zap Comix, Wizzywig tells the story of Kevin Phenicle, who begins as a phone phreak and is pulled deeper and deeper into the world of hacking. Piskor, who collaborated with Harvey Pekar on American Splendor: Our Movie Year and The Beats: A Graphic History, has already published the first two volumes of Wizzywig, and they are both available for free download from his website as well as for sale in better comics stores everywhere. What he’s putting up as a webcomic is a new and improved version. One page is up so far, and he plans to update on Wednesdays and Sundays; for more background, take a look at Shaun Manning’s CBR interviews with Piskor about volumes 2 and 3. (Via Comics Worth Reading.)
- June 10, 2010 @ 09:15 AM by Brigid Alverson
Everyone’s a Critic | A roundup of comic book reviews and thinkpieces
A panel from Simone Lia's Fluffy
Profile: Paul Gravett looks at the work of British cartoonist Simone Lia, whose comic Fluffy chronicles the relationship that grows between a man and a rabbit on a tour through Sicily. Gravett writes:
Lia spins together realistic emotional situations with fanciful, cartoonish playfulness, using diagrams of the thoughts cramming a character’s head, guest narrators like a cheery dust particle and a grouchy piece of dandruff, or “footage” of a little brain cell.
Theory: Shaun Huston discusses comics based on movie and television properties, and how they fit—or don’t fit—with the franchises they are based on:
For both writers and artists working on adaptations of movies and TV shows the challenge is to find a working space wherein one’s own sensibilities can be effectively meshed with the look and feel of the original text and into a book that works for readers. As [Douglas] Wolk implies, this may not be the highest or best expression of art and craft in comics, but doing it well is, in its own way, still an achievement, perhaps even more so because of the mixed reputation of such books.
Review: Kate Dacey writes a mixed review of the first volume of Library Wars: Love and War, a manga about “hot guys who hate censorship but like books, libraries, and butt-kicking women.”
Review: David Brothers has four reasons why he likes Heralds #1—and you should, too!
Advocacy: Ben Morse feels that Young Justice: Sins of Youth has been sadly underrated and unjustly overlooked, so he takes the opportunity to discuss just why it’s so great.
Review: Oliver Ho reads Taiyo Matsumoto’s GoGo Monster, a coming-of-age story that takes a walk on the weird side.
Review: I know that reviews of Daniel Clowes’s Wilson are a dime a dozen, but Michael Buntag’s review sums it all up nicely, so if you don’t have time to read them all, read his.
- June 8, 2010 @ 12:00 PM by Brigid Alverson