One of many moments This! would like you to remember

I understand the importance of complaining about things that need changing — it’s the stick that gets the donkey pulling the cart in the right direction. I don’t think it’s completely effective on its own, though. In the conversation about women in superhero comics, the carrot is under-utilized, so I appreciate a blog like This Is What Women in Superhero Comics Should Be (aka This!) that points out specific examples of women used well in superhero comics. The cart needs to get moving, but it also needs a direction, and This! offers one.

The blog’s only three days old and has already captured more than 30 great moments for women, from Wonder Woman and Catwoman to Jessica Jones and Jennie Sparks. It’s pretty DC-heavy so far, but it’s taking submissions for moments from all superhero publishers.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid this morning postponed a vote on the PROTECT IP Act, a controversial anti-piracy bill that, along with the House’s Stop Online Piracy Act, drew widespread online protest just two days earlier.

Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas), chairman of the House  Judiciary Committee, quickly responded to the announcement by shelving SOPA “until there is wider agreement on a solution.”

The delays appear to be indefinite, with Reid suggesting that PIPA sponsor Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont) redraft the proposed legislation, saying in a statement, “There is no reason that the legitimate issues raised by many about this bill cannot be resolved.”

“I encourage him to continue engaging with all stakeholders to forge a balance between protecting Americans’ intellectual property, and maintaining openness and innovation on the internet,” Reid (D-Nevada) continued. “We made good progress through the discussions we’ve held in recent days, and I am optimistic that we can reach a compromise in the coming weeks.”

In his statement, Smith added: “I have heard from the critics and I take seriously their concerns regarding proposed legislation to address the problem of online piracy. It is clear that we need to revisit the approach on how best to address the problem of foreign thieves that steal and sell American inventions and products.”

PIPA, the Preventing Real Online Threats to Economic Creativity and Theft of Intellectual Property Act of 2011, was originally scheduled for a procedural vote on Tuesday in an effort to break a rarely used hold imposed by Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Oregon). Introduced May 12, the Senate bill, like its House counterpart, would give the U.S. government and rights holders the ability to block access to “rogue websites,” particularly those outside the country, dedicated to copyright infringement and counterfeit goods.

SOPA, introduced Oct. 26 by Smith, seemed headed toward approval by the House Judiciary Committee in December after more than 20 amendments designed to address concerns voiced by technology experts and civil liberty advocates were overwhelmingly rejected. Smith had tentatively planned to revisit the bill next month to consider what has been characterized as watered-down versions of his original legislation.

Critics have charged the sweeping powers amount to censorship, as rights holders would be able to demand a website remove content without having to prove it’s theirs. If the site owners don’t respond within five days, the host would either have to take down the entire website or face a potential lawsuit. SlashGear’s primer also points out that SOPA would permit conflicts of interests that favor large companies.

Jim Steranko's "Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D." Christmas card

Tom Brevoort, Marvel’s senior vice president of publishing, has begun digging into his archives for The Marvel Age of Comics, his new Tumblr blog devoted to “rarities and original art from the formative days of Marvel.” It launched just yesterday, and there’s already some terrific images, including a page of original art from 1941′s Captain America Comics #6, John Byrne’s character sheet for Kitty Pryde and, above, Jim Steranko’s Christmas card from when he was working on Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Atomic Comics

Retailing | In the wake of the August closing of the Atomic Comics chain, Mesa, Arizona-area retailers are searching for ways to diversify in an attempt to keep their own stores afloat. Mike Banks, owner of Samurai Comics, has even opened a new location next to Atomic’s former flagship store to serve customers who suddenly found themselves without a comics shop. [East Valley Tribune]

Creators | Mike Mignola talks about his plans for next year’s Hellboy in Hell: “It’s a personal story about him, but with huge ramifications for the structure of Hell. I’m trying to get Hellboy free of the giant, Beast-of-the-Apocalypse storyline. That story has to get bigger before it can be put away. This first arc is the culmination of all the prophecy crap I’ve been trotting out throughout the years. We put a lot of things to bed.” Mignola also discusses his plans for B.P.R.D. and why he can’t watch the pilot of The Amazing Screw-On Head. [io9]

Creators | Tom Spurgeon continues his holiday interview series with a lengthy chat with Jeff Parker that spans his early comics-reading experiences, the influence of his artistic background on his writing, and his career at Marvel. [The Comics Reporter]

Creators | Geoff Johns reveals the thinking behind his transformation of Aquaman in the newly launched DC Comics series: “You have the fans, like myself, who always root for the character, and you’re always on the defensive immediately. And I wanted to take that approach in the book, that he’s the ultimate underdog of superheroes. He becomes much more human and relatable by being underestimated.” [TV Guide]

From American Vampire #22

Creators | Scott Snyder talks about the upcoming arc of American Vampire. [USA Today]

Creators | Writer Joshua Hale Fialkov discusses his work on I, Vampire. [FearNet]

Publishing | Torsten Adair offers comics publishers some advice for presenting their products online. [The Beat]

Comics | Yueh-lin Ma has a thorough overview of the Taiwanese comics scene, some of which may seem familiar: Japanese manga and American superhero comics are huge over there, but times are hard for local artists, and they are having a tough time getting a foothold in mainland China. [The China Post]

Comics | Paul Gravett mines the latest Previews for a handful of the most promising graphic novels due out in February. [Paul Gravett]

Gareb Shamus

Gareb Shamus, divisive founder of the once-influential Wizard magazine, has resigned as president and chief executive officer of Wizard World Inc.

The publicly traded company announced the move in documents filed Thursday with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. “The resignation is not the result of any disagreement with the company on any matter relating to the company’s operations, policies or practices,” Shamus wrote in his two-sentence letter of resignation.

Michael Mathews, the former CEO of interclick inc. who joined Wizard World in March as chairman, will oversee the day-to-day operations of the company until Shamus’ replacement can be found.

Shamus founded Wizard: The Guide to Comics in 1991, overseeing the rise of a magazine whose prosperity was inextricably tied to the speculator boom it helped fuel with its price guides, creator hot lists and enthusiastic coverage of new publishers like Image Comics and Valiant. By 1997, Wizard Entertainment had added Inquest Gamer and ToyFare magazines and extended its reach with the purchase of Chicago Comicon, later rebranded Wizard World Chicago, setting the company on its long, and occasionally rough, path to becoming a major organizer of regional conventions (earlier this year Wizard World briefly trumpeted 12 cities before slashing that number to eight).

However, the following decade wasn’t as kind to Wizard or the comics industry, with the magazine seeing its circulation dwindle to about 17,000 copies by December 2010. A month later, Shamus abruptly announced the closing of Wizard and ToyFare, the company’s last remaining magazines, and the subsequent launch of an online magazine, a move he later characterized as “the smartest business decision I’ve made in years.”

But about two weeks ago, the digital magazine that Shamus had boasted reached “millions of people” apparently disappeared from the Internet, just about the time that its founder launched a blog on the Wizard World site. Now that, too, is gone. His new Twitter account remains — although he hasn’t written an update since Nov. 28.

Wizard World hopes to have Shamus’ successor in place by Jan. 15.

Batman: The Dark Knight Returns

Frank Miller, whose tirade against the Occupy movement was met with a largely negative, and frequently heated, response, has found an unlikely defender: left-leaning writer Mark Millar.

In a post on his Millarworld forum, the writer of Kick-Ass and The Ultimates says, “It’s strange to watch your favourite writer getting strips torn off him for a couple of days.”

“Politically, I disagree with his analysis, but that’s besides the point,” Millar continues. “I wasn’t shocked by his comments because they’re no different from a lot of commentators I’ve seen discussing the subject. What shocked me was the vitriol against him, the big bucket of shit poured over the head by even fellow comic-book creators for saying what was on his mind.”

As one commenter points out, it probably shouldn’t be shocking that Miller’s no-holds-barred screed, which characterizes Occupy protesters as “a pack of louts, thieves, and rapists” who “can do nothing but harm America,” was answered with a degree of vitriol. Or, in the commenter’s words, “if you throw the first bucket of shit [...] then you should be prepared for some splashback.” Perhaps if Miller’s commentary had been more reasoned and less inflammatory — “decorous,” as Miller himself would say — the reaction might’ve reflected that.

Instead, the writer of Daredevil: Born Again, Batman: Year One and Batman: The Dark Knight Returns delivered an unfocused, angry rant sprinkled with name-calling, weird putdowns — “Go back to your mommas’ basements and play with your Lords Of Warcraft“? — and an incongruous reference to al-Qaeda and “Islamicism” (it’s difficult not to be reminded of then-Sen. Biden’s criticism of Rudy Giuliani, that “there’s only three things he mentions in a sentence — a noun and a verb and 9/11″). There’s a strange, impotent fury to Miller’s words that makes him an inviting target for derision and dismissal as a paranoid crank, and leaves many readers wondering when precisely the disconnect occurred … and what he has against iPhones.

Millar (with an “a”), who faced criticism himself for comments made before the invasion of Iraq, bristles at what he sees as a “distasteful” “cyber-mob mentality” that’s rallied in response to Miller’s remarks.

“It’s not just that I like the guy, that his body of work is among the best the industry has ever seen,” Millar writes. “It’s the GLEE I’m seeing from some people and, worse, the calls I’ve seen to boycott his work because his perspective on a point differs from yours and mine. [...] Liberalism doesn’t mean throwing guys in jail who DISAGREE with your liberalism. It means accepting that society is richer when everybody has a voice. Starting economic sanctions against a writer until they shut up and agree with you is horrific.”

Although I’ve not seen the calls for boycotts, I’m sure they’re out there; the Internet is a greenhouse for boycotts and petitions. However, like so many other online protests, a movement against Miller’s body of work will fizzle, if it even gets off the ground. Readers outraged by the writer’s views about the Occupy movement likely weren’t ordering Holy Terror, tracking down 300 or counting the days until Xerxes. And few, if any, are going to stop reading or buying such seminal works as Batman: Year One or The Dark Knight Returns because, after a quarter-century, they conclude Miller is a crackpot whose views differ radically from their own. Odds are, both collections are already on their shelves anyway.

This brings up a broader point about cartooning: Since their inception, comics have largely strayed away from realistic depictions of characters, be they humans, anthropomorphic animals or anything else. While Campbell’s poses might not be anatomically realistic, part of his style/aesthetic/appeal lies in that bending of reality. Having real people act out some of the exaggerated poses of Campbell, Rob Liefeld or Jack Kirby would show how unrealistic they are … but then again, that stylistic exageration is what makes illustration different from photography and part of the appeal.

That out of the way, seeing people act out Campbell’s poses below is engrossing.

On Monday, Gizmodo intern Alyssa Bereznak briefly took the crown as most despised person on Twitter when she revealed that she was matched up with Jon Finkel on a computer date and rejected him once she learned that he was a former M:TG world champion. This got Bereznak a ton of hate Tweets and Finkel a lot of sympathy on geek and mainstream blogs.

On Wednesday, Dark Horse released The Last Dragon, a truly gorgeous fairy tale-style fantasy illustrated by M:TG artist Rebecca Guay.

And Thursday, IDW Publishing announced it’s teaming up with Hasbro to launch a Magic: The Gathering comic book. It’s not the first M:TG comic (here’s a list), but it is the first in more than 10 years. The series launches with a four-issue miniseries about “a unique, new Planeswalker, a powerful mage with the ability to travel between worlds in the Magic Multiverse,” which of course allows for lots of flexibility when it comes to stories. Game designer Matt Forbeck is writing the comic, and Martín Cóccolo will handle the art. The comic will be available digitally as well as in print, and it will be collected into graphic novels. And naturally —y ou know they had to do this — it comes with “exclusive, playable, alternate-art cards for the MAGIC: THE GATHERING TCG,” in “select issues” of the comic.

Just … if you read it, be sure to mention that in your computer dating profile, or you might be accused of being a stealth geek. On the other hand, that apparently isn’t all bad.

Supergirl/Batgirl, by Mike Maihack

Although we covered the launch of DC Fifty-TOO! just last week — it’s the Jon Morris-spearhead blog on which cartoonists offer their own ideas for DC relaunch titles — I already find myself revisiting it to spotlight a cover. Heck, I could close my eyes, point and land on a half-dozen pieces worth highlighting, but today I’ll focus on the contribution by Cow & Buffalo creator Mike Maihack, who floats an irresistible spin on DC’s classic World’s Finest formula starring Supergirl and Batgirl (Barbara Gordon):

Can the same blonde-haired, wonder teen from Metropolis who helped Barbara Gordon finally put an end to Killer Moth’s week-long crime spree also be the new popular transfer student at Gotham High? Good thing they have superheroics in common because Babs’ and Kara Zor-El’s student lives are about to clash.”

That’s a rough tagline for a book that shouldn’t come as any big surprise for those who have followed me online for longer than a week. I would take a more all-ages approach to the series, placing Babs and Kara in high school who, despite some social differences, eventually become best friends. That’s when I would introduce an idolizing fourteen-year-old Mary Marvel to annoy the heck out of them.

It’s the promise of Mary Marvel that really sells it, isn’t it?

Chad Love Lieberman

Copyright | After running a feature about “New York Multimedia Pop Artist” Chad Love-Lieberman, nephew of Sen. Joseph Lieberman, the website Campus Socialite retracted its story upon finding out that Love-Lieberman “is a fraud, taking other people’s art from the web, touting it as his own, and worst of all – selling it for profit.”

Ursula Vernon, creator of the webcomic Digger, noted that one of the pieces in the article was actually hers. “Mad props to the staff at the Campus Socialite, who got back to me in under ten minutes and promised to pull everything and edit the article — they were just as outraged as you’d expect them to me. I’ve actually granted them permission to use the art with appropriate credit if it’ll help illustrate the issue (pun intended),” she posted on her LiveJournal. The domain for Love-Lieberman’s site, art4love.com, isn’t working, but the site is still up. Artist Deirdre Reynolds has a list going on DeviantArt of all the pieces on art4love that artists have identified as their own. Gary Tyrell, meanwhile, has reached out to both Love-Lieberman and his uncle for comment. [Campus Socialite]

Digital | Comics Buyer’s Guide has gone digital; issues of the long-running industry publication are now available on iVerse’s Comics+ application. Johanna Draper Carlson notes that only two CBG-related publications are currently available — the July 2011 issue and 1000 Comic Books You Must Read by Tony Isabella. [press release, Comics Worth Reading]

Liberty Annual

Creators | Editor Bob Schreck discusses this year’s Liberty Annual, which benefits the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund. [MTV Geek]

Publishing | Image Comics publisher Eric Stephenson discusses Comic-Con International, digital comics and much more: “You know, there seems to be an ongoing tendency to render the entire digital conversation in black and white, as print versus digital, but I think most people are getting pretty used to having their entertainment in a variety of formats at this point. I know people who stream movies and TV online, but also buy DVDs and watch shows on their televisions. People listen to music on their iPods when they’re out and put on a CD or a vinyl record at home. Now books, magazines and comics come in different formats, and if you want those things in different formats, I don’t see how that’s anything other than great. You can’t lug all your books or comics around when you’re traveling or commuting, but you can do exactly that with an iPad.” [Bleeding Cool]

Comics | Tucker Stone gives his first impressions of DC Comics’ “New 52,” based entirely on the promotional materials. [comiXology]

Manga | Jason Thompson takes a look at a classic manga that comes back into season every four years: Eagle: The Making of an Asian-American President. [Anime News Network]

Review | Karen Green reflects on Kathryn and Stuart Immonen’s Moving Pictures, a book she would not have thought to read had she not been an Eisner Awards judge. [comiXology]

Conventions | Kevin Czap reports on last weekend’s Philadelphia Alternative Comic Con. [Comix Cube]

Troy (Donald Glover) in the opening scene from the season premiere of "Community"

A little more than a year ago, journalist and comics writer Marc Bernardin penned an editorial wondering why the Spider-Man in Sony’s movie-franchise reboot had to be played by a white actor, inspiring actor/comedian Donald Glover to spearhead an online campaign to secure an audition. The role eventually went to Andrew Garfield, of course, but Glover’s lobbying effort inadvertently ignited a disturbing Internet firestorm that Community creator Dan Harmon later characterized as a “curious eruption of a previously unknown demographic of racist comic-book readers.”

It wasn’t one of fandom’s shining moments. But fast forward 14 months, to the 49th anniversary of Spider-Man’s first appearance — that’s right, Amazing Fantasy #15 hit newsstands this week in 1962 — and the introduction of the new Spider-Man of Marvel’s Ultimate Universe. Caution: Spoilers follow for those who haven’t seen the countless newspaper and website articles on the subject.

Overnight, USA Today revealed what many have suspected for the past few days, if not since the death of (Ultimate) Peter Parker last month in Ultimate Comics Spider-Man #160: that the new Spider-Man isn’t another white guy. Instead, a half-black, half-Hispanic teen named Miles Morales will star in the title role when Ultimate Spider-Man relaunches in September.

Miles Morales in Ultimate Comics Fallout #4

It’s a move by Marvel, writer Brian Michael Bendis and artist Sara Pichelli that doesn’t “make” Peter Parker black, or gay, or whatever other complaint is usually lobbed whenever superhero comics test the waters of diversity. It’s taking a character from a different background, putting him in the iconic costume and using that as an opportunity to explore different facets of age-old motifs. “The theme is the same: With great power comes great responsibility,” Bendis told the newspaper. “He’s going to learn that. Then he has to figure out what that means.”

Browsing the reactions at USA Today and elsewhere is disheartening, as they’re littered with accusations of PC-ism — a term so overused, and misused, that it loses its meaning — opportunism, and worse. Even Pichelli’s sole quote, an innocuous statement that, “Maybe sooner or later a black or gay — or both — hero will be considered something absolutely normal,” drew criticism. And then there are the patently offensive comments made even before the official announcement by a frequently criticized comics retailer who, when faced with the negative response declared the remarks a “good natured joke” before pulling a Steve Urkel (“Did I do that?”). That may be irony, but I can’t say for certain anymore.

However, my spirits were lifted by a second article in USA Today in which Bendis credits the inspiration for Miles Morales to the opening scene of the season two premiere of NBC’s Community that featured Glover clad in Spider-Man pajamas. It was, in Harmon’s words “a cutesy inside wink to the Donald Glover for Spider-Man campaign” and the ensuing controversy, bringing our story full circle.

“He looked fantastic!” Bendis recalled. “I saw him in the costume and thought, ‘I would like to read that book.’ So I was glad I was writing that book.”

Glover has reacted humbly to his part in the creation of a new Spider-Man, tweeting overnight “So fly,” before adding this morning to Bendis: “Just wanted to say ‘wow; and thank you for doing something really cool and interesting! You’re tops.”

Dan DiDio

Warming up for a grueling Comic-Con International schedule, DC Comics Co-Publisher Dan DiDio held a virtual convention panel last night on Facebook for fans who can’t make it to San Diego. Highlights from the Q&A include:

• DC no longer has the rights to Archie’s Red Circle superheroes.

• Stephanie Brown will remain part of the DC Universe following the September relaunch. However, DiDio won’t reveal where she is just yet. “Sorry, but we are keeping some secrets,” he wrote, “and one of them involves Stephanie.”

• He’s sticking by his earlier remarks about the status of the Justice Society, saying “the official answer on JSA is that ‘They’re resting’.”

• When can we expect the release of Dark Knight: Boy Wonder, the planned six-issue conclusion of Frank Miller and Jim Lee’s All-Star Batman and Robin the Boy Wonder? “Probably when he is The Teen Wonder.”

• Asked whether we’ll ever see the new version of Who’s Who in the DC Universe announced in December 2009, DiDio replied, “the question is not who’s who but when’s when.”

DiDio’s first actual Comic-Con panel, “DC Comics — The New 52,” kicks off at 2 p.m. Thursday in San Diego.

Fusible reports that a panelist for the National Arbitration Forum agreed with DC’s argument that the domain name is identical to the company’s trademarks “Man of Steel,” registered in 1999, and “The Man of Steel,” registered in 1987. He also found that ManofSteel.com was registered and used in bad faith, and was “neither a bona fide offering of goods or services nor a legitimate noncommercial or fair use.”

Coni c/o LBR Enterprises, which was believed to have registered the domain in October 2001, failed to respond to DC’s June 22 complaint.

The Zack Snyder-directed Man of Steel, starring Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Michael Shannon, Diane Lane and Kevin Costner, is set to open in December 2012. Fusible notes that TheManofSteel.com, which isn’t owned by Warner Bros. or DC, is for sale by its current owner for $300.

The original Supergirl listing on DC Comics' "The New 52" landing page (courtesy ComicsAlliance)

We’ve known for a few weeks now that some writers were attached to titles in DC Comics’ upcoming relaunch, only to find themselves shuffled off even as the official announcement was made. While some creators have spoken openly about the hurried, and somewhat-confused, pitch and rejection process, the names of other writers, and the corresponding titles, have been a mystery.

But with the launch last night of the publisher’s new landing page for “DC Comics: The New 52,” ComicsAlliance discovered that some of the original creators were, at least briefly, listed among the issue descriptions, providing evidence of the original plans. There’s confirmation of Brian Wood, instead of Michael Green and Mike Johnson, on Supergirl, Michael Alan Nelson, rather than Ron Marz, on Voodoo, and Simon Spurrier and an undetermined artist, rather than Paul Jenkins and Bernard Chang, on DC Universe Presents.

C.O. Austen, whom ComicsAlliance theorizes might be much-criticized Uncanny X-Men writer Chuck Austen, was also listed on Blackhawks, in place of Mike Costa, who actually ended up with the gig.

DC has made the corrections this morning, but ComicsAlliance has the screencaps from last night.

Justice League, by Jim Lee

When an image of the full, 15-member lineup of DC Comics’ relaunched Justice League leaked over the weekend, discussion immediately turned to the identity of two of the four female characters.

The figure on the left, between Atom and Firestorm, was quickly pegged as Element Woman, a member of the Secret Seven who debuted in Flashpoint #1. But the character opposite her hasn’t been so easy. Speculation soon settled on Zealot from the WildStorm universe, Black Canary, Power Girl — fan blog DC Women Kicking Ass has head shot comparisons — and even the monster-hunting Miranda Shrieve introduced in Flashpoint: Frankenstein and the Creatures of the Unknown #1.

All are seemingly good contenders — all blonde, all with something to contribute to the Justice League roster, and to the newly tweaked DC Universe continuity. Black Canary has a history with the League — she’s alternately a founding member or a later addition, depending on the reboot — while Power Girl served with Justice League Europe. Of course, if the Justice League is starting anew, then none of that much matters. Zealot would help to cement the mergers of the DC and WildStorm universes (Martian Manhunter is now part of Stormwatch), and Miranda, along with Element Woman, would help to untangle how, or if, the threads of Flashpoint tie into the New DCU.

There are solid cases for each of those characters, right? Even if none has the beauty mark that the mystery woman sports above her lip. Right? Well, no.

Overnight, Justice League writer Geoff Johns dropped a bombshell that destroyed all of those theories. “That is not a blonde,” he wrote on Twitter. “(No one’s guessed the characters correctly yet.)”

So back to the drawing board, fandom! Who’s a not-blonde, beauty-mark bearing, turtleneck-wearing superheroine that no one’s thought of yet?

Borders

Retailing | A federal bankruptcy judge has granted Borders Group permission to loosen the terms of its $505-million bankruptcy loan, giving the bookseller more time to line up a buyer and avoid the immediate liquidation of 40 more outlets. The book chain, which has closed 237 of its 642 stores, will file a proposal on July 1 to sell itself at a court-approved auction to a guaranteed buyer — most likely, the Los Angeles-based Gores Group. The private-equity firm has a plan that would save about 250 of the remaining Borders locations by transforming them into “more appealing destinations” similar to the Apple Store chain. [Bloomberg]

Retailing | Bud Plant, one of the initial direct-market distributors who, at one time, operated the largest chain of comic stores in the United States, has announced his retirement. In a letter to his mailing list, Plant said he is looking to find a buyer for Bud’s Art Books, his mail-order/online retail business. [The Comics Reporter]

Retailing | Jetpack Comics in Rochester, New Hampshire, has put out the call for area residents to participate in a photo shoot for retailer-specific variant cover for The Amazing Spider-Man #666: “This is not the first time Rochester has appeared on the cover of a comic book — the organizations also organized a photo shoot of Main Street that was featured on the cover of a Godzilla comic, with the city about to be crushed by the creature. [...] According to Jetpack Comics owner Ralph DiBernardo, after seeing how well the Godzilla comic sold, Marvel Comics wanted to capitalize on that success and suggested the city be featured again.” [Foster's Daily Democrat]

Albuquerque Comic Expo

Conventions | The Albuquerque Comic Expo kicks off Friday at the Albuquerque Convention Center in New Mexico. Comics guests include Stan Lee, Ethan Van Sciver, Arthur Suydam, Michael Golden, Bernie Wrightson, Ale Garza, Gene Ha, Len Wein, James O’Barr, Whilce Portacio, Mitch Breitweiser, Tony Harris, Jill Thompson, Steven Grant and Ryan Cody. [Alibi, Albuquerque Comic Expo]

Creators | Christopher Irving concludes his profile of veteran writer Chris Claremont, covering his 1982 Wolverine miniseries with Frank Miller, his departure from, and return to, X-Men, Jean Grey and the never-ending cycle of death and resurrection, and the evolution of the characters he’s so closely associated with: ““I love Joss Whedon’s writing. It’s just that when he’s writing my characters, it’s hard, especially when he’s writing my characters that I can’t write because he’s writing them. But, by the same token, that phrase in itself points out the dichotomy of the media, because they’re not my characters, and they never were. It’s foolish to bond with them, even though in most cases one can’t help it, because the company doesn’t give a fuck. They may like you personally as a creator, and respect you tremendously as a contributor to the cannon, but in the structural reality of publishing, they go with the guy that works here and now. They go with the concept that works here and now.” [Graphic NYC]

Creators | The Anchorage Press profiles Alaska natives Brandon Seifert and Lukas Ketner, creators of Witch Doctor. [Anchorage Press]

Creators | Writer James Patrick is spotlighted by a local newspaper for his three-issue run on Green Arrow. [The Marietta Times]

Barnes & Noble

Retailing | As the bankrupt Borders Group weighs competing bids, Barnes & Noble — the largest book chain in the United States — reports a loss of $74 million for the fiscal year, in part because of heavy investment in its digital initiatives. However, the company saw a 50-percent sales increase at BN.com, fueled by Nook devices and digital content sold through the Nook Bookstore. [Publishers Weekly]

Passings | Lew Sayre Schwartz, one of Bob Kane’s ghost artists on Batman and Detective Comics, passed away June 7 as the result of an injury suffered in a fall. He was 84. Schwartz drew as many as 120 Batman stories between 1948 and 1953, all signed “Bob Kane,” before leaving comics after a junket entertaining troops in Korea. Eddie Campbell quotes Schwartz as saying, “’When I got back, I couldn’t stand drawing another page’ of Batman.” He went on to work in television advertising, co-founding the commercial production company Ferro, Mogubgub and Schwartz. [Mark Evanier, ComicMix]

Conventions | Scott Lewis looks at the plan by Mayor Jerry Sanders to pay for the $500-million expansion of the San Diego Convention Center: the Convention Center Assessment District, an entity that will add an additional 3 percent tax on room bills for hotels downtown, 2 percent on those out to Mission Valley, and 1 percent on those farther away. [Voice of San Diego]

Tr!ckster

Conventions | Deborah Vankin spotlights Tr!ckster, a pop-up event being spearheaded by Scott Morse and Ted Mathot as an alternative to Comic-Con International. The combination retail space/art gallery/convention emphasizing creator-owned and -driven work will be set up in the San Diego Wine and Culinary Center, across the street from the San Diego Convention Center, from July 19 to July 24. [Hero Complex]

Conventions | Dave Carter reports on the third annual Kids Read Comics! convention held last weekend in Chelsea, Michigan. [Yet Another Comics Blog]

Digital comics | Corrina Lawson pens an open letter to DC Comics concerning the publisher’s recently announced digital pricing model: “I’m not saying DC should put up their new books for free — I can see all kinds of piracy problems plus the issues with cutting into comic retailers profits — but DC should seriously think about putting up a large amount of its backlist for digital distribution. Want to get fans hooked on the new Batman and Robin, now Bruce Wayne and his son, Damian Wayne? Offer for free the digital version of the trade paperback that introduces Damian or the storyline that brought back Bruce from the dead, Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne. Want people to get hooked on Scott Snyder’s Batman? Offer an issue or two of his current run on Detective for free. Want people to read the new Green Lantern comics? Give those who buy the digital issues at $2.99 a free digital trade paperback of Blackest Night, the last big Green Lantern event. Or even offer subscriptions in bundles. Pay $10 a month and get all the various Batman titles. Or something similar for all the Green Lantern books.” [GeekDad]

Legal | The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund comes out in opposition of a new Tennessee law that makes it illegal to post images online that cause “emotional distress.” [CBLDF]

Grant Morrison

Creators | Grant Morrison discusses his upcoming book Supergods: Our World in the Age of the Superhero: “A lot of the superheroes, like Flash, don’t even need a great backstory. If you look back to the early Zorro film, which influenced Batman, Zorro just turns up and starts kicking ass. There’s no indication why he became Zorro or why he chose to dress like that. The modern approach to comic superheroes only came in later, when adults started to ask dumb questions like, ‘Why would he do that? How could he afford to do that?’ These are really stupid questions to ask of fantasy, but people did ask them, and then try to answer them. A superhero doesn’t really need a major motivation, though the best ones tend to have something big going on: Batman’s parents or Superman losing an entire planet so he has to protect this one. And a superhero needs to have a good silhouette; they need to be distinguishable.” [The List]

Creators | Writers Ed Brubaker and Duane Swierczynski talk about Swierczynski’s new novel Fun & Games, Criminal, the importance of setting, and more. [Mulholland Books]

Creators | Eva Volin interviews Barry Deutsch, creator of Hereville: How Mirka Got Her Sword. [Good Comics for Kids]

Comics | Jeff Trexler begins a multi-part look back at the Comics Code. [The Comics Journal]

Fear Itself #2

Publishing | May marked the worst month of the year for the direct market since January as sales of comic books and graphic novels fell 11.21 percent versus May 2010. Chart watcher John Jackson Miller chalks up the decline to a combination of retailers ordering more Free Comic Book Day titles than “for-profit” books and publishers’ summer events heating up a little later this year. Marvel led Diamond Comic Distributors’ list of top comics for the month with Fear Itself #2, followed by the first issue of DC’s Flashpoint. Avatar topped the graphic novel chart with Crossed 3D, Vol. 1. [The Comichron]

Legal | The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund has joined a coalition that includes booksellers, media companies and the ACLU of Utah in seeking to permanently stop enforcement of a 2005 Utah statute that would regulate Internet speech that some consider “harmful to minors,” including works of art, graphic novels, information about sexual health and the rights of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender youth. The law has not gone into effect because Utah consented to a temporary injunction until the case can be decided. [press release]

Awards | A reminder: Online voting ends today for the 2011 Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards. The winners will be announced July 22 during Comic-Con International in San Diego. [Eisner Awards]

Archie Comics

Publishing | Tom Spurgeon talks at length with Archie Comics Co-CEO Jon Goldwater about the publishers’ marketing strategy, digital initiatives, and how recently introduced gay character Kevin Keller fits into Riverdale: “You know, with all of the bullying going on in the world today, and all of the issues young people grow up with, it just proves the point that kids are kids, and that Archie, the gang, Riverdale, it’s all-inclusive. That’s how kids are in high school today. The point of his being gay, he’s just another kid. That’s the point of putting him in there. He’s accepted, and everyone should be accepted wherever they go. That sounds a little bit utopian, but why not? Why can’t we at least put that forth? Put forth the fact that everyone no matter what their orientation is, what the color of their skin is, what their religion is, whatever it may be, everyone’s accepted: there is no divisiveness. When you turn on the TV and you hear all this vitriol back and forth between political parties and all this nonsense it’s enough to get you nuts. The point of Kevin was ‘Hey, stop with this craziness. Everyone’s included. We’re all part of the human race no matter who you are or what you are.’” [The Comics Reporter]

Wizard

Conventions | Jerome Maida previews Wizard World Philadelphia, which returns on Friday to the Pennsylvania Convention Center. [Philadelphia Daily News]

Conventions | Lisa Allmendinger looks toward the third annual Kids Read Comics! convention, which kicks off Saturday in Chelsea, Michigan. [AnnArbor.com]

Conventions | On a related note, Snow Wildsmith offers tips on taking children to conventions. [Good Comics for Kids]

Creators | Greg Rucka talks about his upcoming run, with artist Marco Checchetto, on Marvel’s Punisher: “You find yourself in the position of going to your editor and saying, ‘So, who can I kill? Who is on the list of characters we can put a bullet in and is not going to horribly destroy what’s going in the rest of the universe?’ You never want to take a character out of play. It’s easier to take stuff away from the universe than to put it back into the universe.” [USA Today]

Broadway | The Stage Directors and Choreographers Society has filed an arbitration claim against the producers of the $70-million musical Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark for failure to pay royalties to original director Julie Taymor, who was fired in March. [The New York Times]

Superman #1

While most DC Comics fans wait impatiently for the publisher to announce the final details of its sweeping 52-title relaunch, one industrious reader went to work to unearth the covers to Superman #1, Superboy #1 and Supergirl #1.

That leaves only one series, by all accounts Action Comics, which as Comic Book Resources reported last week will likely be written by Grant Morrison. Bleeding Cool contends that Rags Morales is the artist.

The three covers, found Thursday on the DC server by a Comic Book Resources forum member with the time and patience to try numerous file-name combinations, aren’t particularly surprising; Superman and Supergirl, at least, were sure bets for the relaunch, and Scott Lobdell had let slip earlier this week that he’s writing Superboy. However, they seem to confirm Bleeding Cool’s report that George Perez will be drawing, and presumably writing, Superman. Screenwriters Michael Green and Mike Johnson, who worked together on Superman/Batman, are thought to be penning Supergirl, with Mahmud A. Asrar on art (at least judging from the cover).

A question mark remains over Superboy, in part because the character looks radically different on this cover than he appears on the one(s) for Teen Titans #1. (Update: A commenter identifies the Superboy cover artist as Eric Canete.)

DC was expected to officially announce the Superman books today, but as the hours pass it’s beginning to look as if the publisher may hold back until Saturday afternoon, when Co-Publisher Jim Lee and Chief Creative Officer Geoff Johns appear at the Hero Complex Film Festival in Los Angeles.

Update 2: DC officially unveiled the remaining titles this afternoon after all, confirming Morrison and Morales on Action Comics, Perez writing but Jesus Merino penciling Superman, Green, Johnson and Asrar on Supergirl, and Lobdell, R.B. Silva and Rob Lean on Superboy. Comic Book Resources has the details.

Check out the covers for Superboy #1 and Supergirl #1 after the break.

Superboy #1

Supergirl #1

Artist Chris Burnham seems to be having some fun with the comic book internet in this week’s Batman Inc. #6. Not only did ComicsAlliance contributor Chris Sims’ corpse make a cameo, but so did, apparently, Comic Book Resources’ community forums:

I haven’t read the issue yet, so thanks to Stephen and James for the tip off. Now I’m going to go change my icon to Gloop and Gleep.