Comic Book Resources

Show us your shelf porn, Neil Gaiman!

my god it's full of stars

Neil Gaiman can claim many honorifics: acclaimed comics writer, bestselling novelist, Newbery Award-winning children's author, dater of rock stars. To this list we can now add "owner of an intimidatingly awesome book collection." Shelfari, the online social networking site for book lovers, has posted an astonishing photo gallery of Gaiman's wall-to-wall, floor-to-ceiling personal library; if possible, it's even more impressive than you might have imagined the Sandman scribe's bookshelves to be. As a person who actually purchased a house in part to have more shelf space, I can only say that the creator of Dream is living the dream.

(Via Tom Spurgeon, whose headline for the link is so good that you really ought to click over there and reward him with your traffic just to see it)

Gaiman on Marvelman: 'Obviously I’d like to finish the story I started'

Miracleman #23

Although he admits he's uncertain what will happen with the property, Neil Gaiman says he's "delighted" that Marvel has acquired the rights to Marvelman, and would like to complete the story he began nearly two decades ago.

Gaiman succeeded Alan Moore as writer on the series, then called Miracleman because of trademark concerns, with 1990's Issue 17. He collaborated with artist Mark Buckingham through Issue 25, which was never published because of the collapse of Eclipse Comics.  That issue would have reintroduced Kid Miracleman.

"Right now I'm not entirely sure what's going to happen," Gaiman writes this morning on his website, "and Mark Buckingham and I haven't signed anything, but I'm really hopeful that Marvel will bring Alan Moore's stories back into print, and the work I did with Mark Buckingham (Miracleman 25 was finished, ready for printing, 16 years ago. It's still in Mark Buckingham's possession, although some of the lettering balloons have gone a bit yellow.) I'm not entirely sure what Marvel's plans are for the character at this point -- obviously I'd like to finish the story I started."

Gaiman elaborates a little more in this brief interview with Matthew Surridge for the Montreal Gazette: "... To be honest, I’m just delighted that Marvel have acquired the rights legally, and are talking right now with us about reprinting the work, bringing the work back ethically. Which is a lot more than – you know, [Canadian comics creator] Todd McFarlane [who] … announced that he was going to be reprinting it without paying us. Things are definitely in a better place."

For more on the complicated history of Mick Anglo's Marvelman/Miracleman, be sure to check out Chris Mautner's overiew.

SDCC '09 | Robot 6's Marvelman 101 guide

Marvelman teaser, by Joe Quesada

We've noticed some confusion surrounding Marvel's big announcement about its acquisition of Marvelman. Namely, some are wondering why this is big news, or asking who this Marvelman is anyway.

Fear not, we can help. After the break you'll find a guide to the whys and wherefores of Marvelman and why this really, truly is a really, really big deal.

Note: Parts of this article originally appeared here, as part of the "Collect This Now!"feature. It's been refurbished quite a bit, though.

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ComicsLive | A guide to upcoming comic-related events

Welcome to ComicsLive, a guide to upcoming signings, conventions and other comic-related events. Information on submitting your event can be found at the bottom of this post.

July 17

Multiple cities | Watchmen returns to theaters with additional footage for a limited run in Los Angeles, New York City, Dallas and Minneapolis. Details can be found here.

July 18

Baltimore | Geppi's Entertainment Museum hosts Secret Identities: The Asian American Superhero Anthology editor Keith Chow, art director Jerry Ma, artist Alex Tarampi and writer Larry Hama from noon to 4p.m. for a presentation, discussion and signing.

Portland | Cosmic Monkey Comics hosts a 24-hour zine challenge beginning at 10 a.m. and ending, naturally, at 10 a.m. the next day.

Jeffrey Brown's Hulk

Puyallup, Wash. | Comic Evolution will host a March of Dimes benefit that includes a silent auction and several artists doing sketches for donations, including Paul Gulacy, Clayton Crain and many more.

San Francisco | Isotope Comics hosts a signing and party for Geoff Johns, writer of Blackest Night, Green Lantern and various other titles. They'll have free buttons and a selection of Lantern Corps. cocktails. The signing begins at 4 p.m. and the 21+ party begins at 7 p.m.

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The Graveyard Book wins Audiobook of the Year

The Graveyard Book

Neil Gaiman took home two awards at The Audies tonight, including the 2009 Audiobook of the Year award, for The Graveyard Book.

Gaiman not only wrote the book, but also read it for the audiobook version. He's been Twittering from the awards all night, and tweeted "Argh oh god i got it" when he won.

The Graveyard Book was up against Brisingr by Christopher Paolini and A Wolf at the Table: A Memoir of my Father by Augusten Burroughs for the top award. It also won in the "Children's Titles for Ages 8-12" category and was nominated in the "Thriller/Suspense" category.

In addition, Chip Kidd's The Learners, read by actor Bronson Pinchot, won in the humor category. Kidd has done design work for a number of comic-related books, including Mythology: The DC Comics Art of Alex Ross, in addition to designing covers for numerous novels.

Congrats to both Gaiman and Kidd on their awards.

Gahan Wilson animates Gaiman story

New Yorker cartoonist Gahan Wilson has animated Neil Gaiman's short story "It Was a Dark and Silly Night," which you can check out at The New York Times or right here:

Stamps to make fans happy on both sides of the Atlantic

Stamps designed by Dave McKean

Fans in the United Kingdom and the United States both have something to look forward to in the mail later this year. First, the Royal Mail will introduce new stamps (pictured above) designed by Dave McKean featuring assorted mythical beasts. In addition, if you buy a presentation pack, the stamps will include a short story by Neil Gaiman. The stamps are due June 16.

And for those of us on this side of the ocean ... later this week the United States Post office will unveil the designs for stamps featuring the five main Simpsons characters -- Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie. No word on when the stamps will actually hit stores, but I'm sure they'll announce that on April 9 as well.

Six by 6 | Six other comics I'd like to see more of

Miracleman #23

After almost 20 years, it looked like the first two issues of Big Numbers were the only issues we'd ever see. But last week the third issue miraculously surfaced on the internet.

Alan Moore and Bill Sienkiewicz's aborted epic is one of those series that, even 20 years later, still gets people talking and wondering about what might have been. On his blog, Eddie Campbell remembers talking to Kevin Eastman about why the third issue was never published, even though it was finished: "I recall asking publisher Kevin Eastman at the time why, even though the 12-issue series was abandoned, he couldn't put out the existing third issue," Campbell writes. "He looked at me as though I was daft. Who would want a third issue if they knew there wouldn't be any after that?"

And yet here we are, in 2009, talking about a third issue no one would want.

Big Numbers is far from the only series that ever fell into comic limbo. In honor of Pádraig O Méalóid's eBay purchase, here are six other comics that I'd like to see more of. Note that for the purpose of this list, I avoided titles that were officially canceled for sales reasons (like Blue Beetle, Aztek or Chase ... that's another list for another day) and instead focused on comics that we expected to see one day, but for some reason or another, they were never published (at least not yet, anyway). Books where I feel I could use some closure. Like last week, I received a little help from my fellow Robot 6 bloggers, so thanks to Kevin Melrose, Tim O'Shea and Michael May for their suggestions.

1. Miracleman: I would consider three comic titles the "holy trinity" of stories lost to comic book limbo -- three books that were created but never saw print for one reason or another. One would be the previously mentioned Big Numbers #3, while another would be Miracleman #25. Written by Neil Gaiman and drawn by Mark Buckingham, the 25th issue of this epic series was never published.

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Watch Gaiman and Colbert face off over The Graveyard Book

As JK noted yesterday, Neil Gaiman appeared on The Colbert Report last night to answer Stephen Colbert's charges about Gaiman's children's book The Graveyard Book.

"Isn't there a danger here that our children will stop being frightened of graveyards?" Colbert asked in the interview. "Because without that how are we supposed to get them to eat their vegetables?"

You can watch the full episode at the Colbert Nation website.

Gaiman defends controversial child-raising techniques on The Colbert Report

Neil Gaiman, writer of Sandman and The Graveyard Book, will appear on The Colbert Report tonight.

As you can see in the video below, the popular conservative talk show host called Gaiman out on his latest book, where a young orphan escapes his family's killer by wandering into a graveyard:

The program starts at 11:30 p.m. Eastern on Comedy Central.

Talking Comics with Tim: Todd Klein

Comic Book Dreams Print

Todd Klein is a letterer with a level of talent, success and acclaim that is only exceeded by his modesty. That's the perspective I took away from an email interview I recently conducted with him. I'm not even going to bother offering some concise bio blurb on the man--he has such a rich history, it's just best that you go here to read up on him. On with the fun.

Tim O'Shea: As of 2006, you noted the following metrics: "From beginning freelance work in 1977 through the end of 2006 I've lettered over 48,000 pages of comics, as well as over 5,400 covers and designed over 820 logos." Have you tried to keep track of your pace since 2006?

Todd Klein: In 2007 I added 2013 pages, no covers and 8 logos. In 2008 I added 2102 pages, 12 covers and 10 logos. That kind of information, for those who want it, is available on my website's Klein Lettering Archives pages.

O'Shea: In the case of long-term collaborators, like Neil Gaiman and Alan Moore, in what ways do they utilize your unique skills to elevate their narrative?

Klein: Kind of a hard question for me, asking them would probably give a more accurate answer. From my end, I can say they know my work well and what I can do, know that I don't shy away from a challenge, so I think they pretty much trust that I will give them something that works no matter what they ask for.

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A glimpse at 'Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader?'

From Batman #686

MySpace Comic Books has a four-page preview of Batman #686, the first issue of Neil Gaiman and Andy Kubert's two-part "Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader?" The much-anticipated comic hits shelves on Feb. 11.

Gaiman's The Graveyard Book wins Newbery Medal

The Graveyard Book

The Graveyard Book, by Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean, has won the prestigious Newbery Medal for the most distinguished contribution to children's literature.

The award was announced this morning at the American Library Association's Midwinter Meeting in Denver.

Eleanor Davis' Stinky, from Toon Books, received a Theodor Seuss Geisel Honor for beginning-reader books.

Gaiman responded to the news on his blog and, more candidly, on Twitter: "About to drink second cup of tea without Marmalade this morning. Also, I just won the Newbury Medal for THE GRAVEYARD BOOK."

He quickly followed that comment with this slighly less subdued one: "Newbery, not Newbury. Also FUCK!!!! I won the FUCKING NEWBERY THIS IS SO FUCKING AWESOME. I thank you."

Released in September in the U.S. by HarperCollins, the young-adult fantasy centers on a boy who takes refuge in a cemetery after the murder of his parents. There, he's adopted and befriended by ghosts.

Davis' Stinky is about a monster who is terrified of people, and concocts crazy plans to scare a kid away from his swamp.

2009 is lookin' fine

Ten Against the World by Scott Morse

As Chris goes through the 2009 catalogs of various publishers like Fantagraphics and Drawn & Quarterly, I thought I'd share a few update on future projects that creators have mentioned on their blogs. First, over on his blog Red Window, Scott Morse says he's working on a follow-up to The Ancient Book of Myth and War called The Ancient Book of Sex and Science. He's also got another Magic Pickle book coming out in 2009, as well as what sounds like a gigantic bunch of awesomeness, a '50s monster book called Ten Against the World:

*TEN AGAINST THE WORLD is in the works, I'm pleased to officially announce. It's a 160 (or so) page Kirby/Toth-inspired monster comic set in the 1950's, lots of comic book fun I'm certain Wertham would love. There's a teaser above. It's being produced entirely in Photoshop on my Cintique, no pencils, just straight digital black, white, and blue, as an experiment in economics and speed. I'm about 40 pages in at this point. Keep your eyes and ears open for this one, as it may actually hit initially in online installments.

Next, Alex Robinson's Too Cool To Be Forgotten has been popping up on year-end best of lists here and there (Tim O'Shea had it on his), and over on his LiveJournal he talks about the project he's just starting starring Santa Claus:

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