Bandai Entertainment

Publishing | The anime and manga company Bandai Entertainment will stop distributing new products in February, although its existing catalog will continue to be available until the licenses expire. The company will shift its focus to licensing its properties for digital distribution and merchandising. President and CEO Ken Iyadomi said the decision to shut down new-product operations was made by the Japanese parent company without his input, and he strongly implied the underlying problem was that the corporate parent wanted to charge more for its anime than the current market will bear. Bandai published the Lucky Star, Kannagi and Eureka Seven manga, among others; all new manga volumes have been canceled, which means Kannagi will be left incomplete, at least for now. [Anime News Network]

Awards | The finalists for the Cybils, the blogger’s literary awards for children’s and YA books, have been posted, and they include five nominations each in the children’s and YA graphic novel categories. [Cybils Awards]

Fatale #1

Creators | Frequent collaborators Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips discuss their new horror-noir series Fatale, which debuts today. “You can scare people with a movie because you’re in control a lot more,” Brubaker says. “In a book, you’re making them imagine pictures, and it’s a different amount of control. With a comic book, it’s very hard to write something that puts people on edge. That’s an important thing: Let people know they have no idea what’s coming in this story and no idea what anything is going to be.” [USA Today]

Creators | Paul Grist digs into his new Image Comics series Mudman, whose fictional setting is inspired by his own town on the southwest coast of England. [USA Today]

Creators | King City writer and artist Brandon Graham talks about getting published, and names his favorite comics creators in an interview with David Harper. [Multiversity Comics]

Jerusalem

Creators | A Lebanese newspaper profiles cartoonist Guy Delisle, creator of Jerusalem: Chronicles from the Holy City. [The Daily Star]

Comics | Larry Cruz takes an affectionate look at Golden Age vamp Phantom Lady, a creation of the Eisner-Iger studio. [The Webcomic Overlook]

Commentary | Alan David Doane argues that Alan Moore’s veto of a reprint of 1963 is an argument for, not against, creator-owned comics. “But Moore, as an individual and as a comics creator, has more than earned the right to associate with, both personally and professionally, only those he chooses to associate with. He should not be forced into business contracts or personal relationships he does not wish to be a part of, and we should respect that.” [Trouble With Comics]

Critique | Domingos Isabelinho discusses the decision to re-color Donald Duck: Lost in the Andes, as well as some of the tropes that were left untouched. [The Hooded Utilitarian]

Mudman

This week saw the debut of Mudman, a new ongoing comic by Paul Grist publsihed by Image Comics. Grist has always had a talent for creating fun comics with a distinctive art style, whether he’s teaming with Grant Morrison on St. Swithin’s Day or Steven T. Seagle on Grendel: Devil in Our Midst, to writing and drawing his own comics, like Kane, Jack Staff and Burglar Bill.

How does Mudman stack up? Here’s what people are saying …

Brandon Borzelli, Geek Goggle Reviews: “The book opens with a letter from Grist about what his book’s source and motivation is and it is a great way to open up a creator owned book. Grist manages, in this note, to strip away all of the noise and hype associated with comic books in general to boil everything down to just a simple story that he wants to tell. It sets the stage perfectly.”

Sam Moyerman, Broken Frontier: “There’s something inherently wonderful with the writing of Paul Grist. The man just knows how to tell a good story. There’s nothing out of the ordinary about the setup here; any comic book fan will recognize it immediately: teenager, lots going for him, some stuff under the surface, and then suddenly… superpowers. And yet, despite what could very easily fall into melodramatic cliche, it remains fresh and fun in Grist’s hands. The dialogue feels right for these characters (especially a scene where Jack saves Owen from a bully) and never forces the action. Grist does enough to show that these characters live in a fully realized world. He even does a little of his vintage time manipulating, jumping around the action to keep surprises coming, even one for Owen in French class.”

Brian Salvatore, Multiversity Comics: “Grist’s art lives up to the high standard of his past work and continues to build his reputation as one of the most brilliant layout artists working today. There are numerous pages where I found myself staring at the page as a whole instead of focusing on the actual action, because I was just so taken by the way the story was being laid out in front of me. The design of the Mudman costume is a thing of beauty; it is simple, classic and familiar, without borrowing too much from one specific pre-existing hero.”

Iann Robinson, CraveOnline: “Mudman, the new series from Image comics leaves a very distinct reaction of ‘Well’ pause ‘That happened.’ I’m not sure what the goal is here. It could be a piss-take, a little joyful ribbing at the expense of the costumed superhero. It could be an attempt to lay another pair of footprints down the well-worn road of comedy-meets-superhero. Whatever Image was going for, they missed the mark, at least with the first issue. A number one issue is supposed to slap out at you, grab you and reel you in. Mudman lays there like, well, like a bunch of wet mud.”

Wesley Messer, MyComicNetwork.com: “Paul Grist’s Mudman is off to a good start. Owen is a likable character and overall the setup for it works. Grist’s art is dynamic and fits the sort of hybrid modern and retro take that the book has going on. I’ve also made a point to mention the coloring on this issue. I’ve always liked Bill Crabtree’s colors but they’re one of the driving forces on Mudman. The muted colors do a nice job in showing off Grist’s world. A truly unique take on superheroes that deserves a chance to find an audience. If you’re in your shop and looking for something different grab Mudman off the shelf. You’ll be as engaged as I am in Mudman’s world and wanting to read more of Paul Grist’s work.”

Rich Johnston, Bleeding Cool: “Because this is as close to a Mike Leigh film as you can get while still having colourful tights. Teenagers in a boring high school in a boring part of England on the coast. The kind of town the rest of the country has given up on. It’s not even as glamourous as… Plymouth. It’s an inbetween town. It’s the kind of place crime does happen, out of the glare of media, police, concerned citizens. And to that, Paul Grist adds this touch of bizarreness, playing off the very mud flats that make this place even more boring that usual, especially to the mind of a teenager. And Grist does so in his customary fashion that’s half way between Andi Watson’s Breakfast After Noon and Dave Sim’s Cerebus, with inventive panels, poses, storytelling tricks and even lettering, that is grounded in the very believable here and now. To this extent, it’s far more successful than, say, Jamie McKelvie’s Suburban Glamour which tried a similar trick. But that was Skins, which I could never believe in, where as this is Secrets And Lies, or Nuts In May or The Street. It is as stylised as any fiction, but it feels like next door, or someone’s next door. I could never find myself believing in Kick Ass, it always felt they were performing for an audience. But here, that’s not an issue. The family dynamic, the friends and school and the belief that there must be something fantastic happening somewhere if only you could find it. The jump Mudman makes is to find it.”

Mudman

Welcome to Food or Comics?, where every week we talk about what comics we’d buy at our local comic shop based on certain spending limits — $15 and $30 — as well as what we’d get if we had extra money or a gift card to spend on a “Splurge” item.

Check out Diamond’s release list or ComicList, and tell us what you’re getting in our comments field.

Graeme McMillan

What’s that, you say? Paul Grist’s new Mudman series starts this week (#1, Image Comics, $3.50)? Well, that’s how I’m starting my $15 haul this week. While I’m at it, let’s add Avengers Origins: Luke Cage #1 (Marvel, $3.99) and Kirby Genesis: Captain Victory #1 (Dynamite, $3.99), before finishing up with the third issue of Wonder Woman (DC, $2.99) for a superheroic week that goes from the earth to the gods, with some blaxploitation and aliens thrown in the middle for flavor.

DC would dominate the other half of my budget if I had $30. I’d be grabbing the third issues of Green Lantern Corps, Justice League and Supergirl ($2.99 each, except Justice League for $3.99), but I’m surprising myself as much as anyone else by grabbing The Bionic Man #4 (Dynamite, $3.99) for my final pick – I read the first three issues in a bunch this weekend and really enjoyed the book to date much more than I’d been expecting.

If I were to splurge this week, my money would probably end up going to Dark Horse, because I’m kind of tempted by Drawing Down The Moon: The Art of Charles Vess ($29.99). I’ve liked Vess’ art ever since I first saw it, which was possibly in his Spider-Man graphic novel in the late 1980s…? Nonetheless, this is more than likely something I’ll end up loving the hell out of.

Chris Arrant

Wonder Woman #3

If I had $15, I’d grab (with both hands) Wonder Woman #3 (DC, $2.99). The only time I’ve bought three issues in a row of Wonder Woman was the Amazons Attack crossover Pete Woods drew years ago, but this team-up between Brian Azzarello and Cliff Chiang has been consistently amazing. Next up I’d go from amazons to vikings for Northlanders #46 (DC/Vertigo, $2.99); I’ve bought every issue of this in singles, but seeing artist Paul Azaceta’s arc on this re-invigorated my appreciation for the title. Getting my super-hero fix on, next I’d get Avengers #19 (Marvel, $3.99). I admit seeing Norman Osborn’s Dark Avengers isn’t high on my list, but I’ve continually enjoyed what Bendis has done to varying degrees and seeing Daniel Acuna join the book is a big bonus in my book. Lastly, I’d be one of the zombie horde to buy Walking Dead #91 (Image, $2.99).

If I had $30, I’d thankfully double-back to get Greg Capullo’s ongoing return in Batman #3 (DC, $2.99) – seriously, I think Capullo is entrenching himself as a top artist in mainstream comics (again). Next up I’d get two Marvel joints – Thunderbolts #165 (Marvel, $2.99) and Venom #9 (Marvel, $2.99). After that, I’d get me weekly fix of Pilot Season with Seraph (Image/Top Cow, $3.99) then get Justice League #3 (DC, $3.99).

For splurging, there would be no question that I’d get the trade paperback edition of Drawing Down The Moon (Dark Horse, $29.99). I missed this when it came out in hardcover in 2009, so I’m glad to see it coming back into print. I seriously think Vess is one of the overlooked great in comics, but only because he hasn’t done a standard “run” on a title like seems to be needed to ingratiate yourself with the comic buying world at large. Regardless, Vess is a master and I’m glad to finally get my hands on this for a decent price.

Chris Mautner

Butcher Baker Candlestickmaker

If I had $15: It’s a quiet week for me for the most part, so I’d probably limit my initial purchases to the fifth issue of The Boys‘ spin-off Butcher Baker Candlestickmaker. For some reason I was under the delusion that it was a four-issue series and not six. Oh well.

If I had $30: A lot of people who’s opinions I respect really like the work of Golden Age artist Bob Powell, so I’d at least take a gander through Bob Powell’s Terror, a Craig Yoe-edited collection of ghoulish tales.

Splurge: That $150 one-volume anniversary edition of Bone would probably make a good Christmas present for somebody on my gift list. If I was splurging for myself though, I’d grab another Yoe-edited book, Felix the Cat: The Great Comic Book Tails, a collection of long-form stories done for Dell and Harvey back in the day by Otto Messmer, who did the original Felix comic strip as well.

Brigid Alverson

Saturn Apartments

If I had $15: I would end up leaving some of it on the table, because this is a good week for manga, and all the manga costs less than $15. Viz has three new volumes coming out this week, and my first choice among them is volume four of Saturn Apartments ($12.99), which I mentioned in What Are You Reading? this past weekend. It’s a lovely sci-fi story about a window washer in a space colony and the people he encounters. I’m hooked, and I’m ready for volume four.

If I had $30: I would add Tesoro, an anthology of short stories by Natsume Ono. Viz has been publishing a lot of Ono’s work lately, and it’s all beautiful. Her stories are more literary and romantic than your standard run of teenage manga, and she has a clean, linear style that is easy on the eyes. With the leftover money, I’d pick up Atomic Robo and the Ghost of Station X #3, just for something different–and because I find Atomic Robo irresistible.

Splurge: Let’s start with the third Viz release of the week, vol. 10 of Real. It’s a splurge for me because it’s a bit of a risk–I haven’t been keeping up with the series, and I don’t know anything about basketball, let alone wheelchair basketball. But volume 1 was amazing, and I’d like to see more. And if I’m really binging, I’d add the first volume of Fantagraphics’ Pogo collection ($39.99) and Drawn & Quarterly’s The Adventures of Herge ($19.95), a graphic biography of the creator of Tintin, drawn in his own ligne claire style.

Michael May

If I had #15, I’d spend most of it on DC. Eventually, I’m going to have to cut back on the number of series I’m buying from them, but not this week. I’m still enjoying Batman ($2.99), Birds of Prey ($2.99), Supergirl ($2.99), and Wonder Woman ($2.99) and want the third issues of each of them. Finishing off my budget, I’d grab Fear Itself: The Fearless #3 ($2.99). I caught up on it last night and even though I didn’t read Fear Itself, I’m going to enjoy Valkyrie’s globe-trotting adventures tracking down a bunch of MacGuffiny weapons and fighting vampires and Avengers along the way.

If I had $30, I’d quickly add Planet of the Apes #8 ($3.99), Bonnie Lass #3 ($2.99), and Atomic Robo and the Ghost of Station X #3 ($3.50). And like Graeme, I’d be sure to try out Paul Grist’s Mudman #1.

Splurge-wise, how unfair is the universe for making the color, one-volume Bone ($150.00) available on the same day as Fantagraphic’s Pogo: The Complete Syndicated Comic Strips, Volume 1 ($39.99)? And that’s on top of DC’s Legends of the Dark Knight: Marshall Rogers collection ($49.99) and SLG’s Royal Historian of Oz ($14.95). Bone and Pogo are especially impossible to pick between, even with the massive price difference.

The Dark Crystal: Creation Myths

It’s time once again for our monthly trip through Previews looking for cool, new comics. As usual, we’re focusing on graphic novels, collected volumes, and first issues so that I don’t have to come up with a new way to say, “ Dark Horse Presents is still awesome!” every month. And I’ll continue letting Tom and Carla do the heavy lifting in regards to DC and Marvel’s solicitations.

Also, please feel free to play along in the comments. Tell me what I missed that you’re looking forward to or – if you’re a comics creator – mention your own stuff.

Ape

Puss in Boots Movie Prequel – I don’t care for movie prequel comics as a rule, but swashbuckling cats are awesome in any incarnation. As long as these are fresh gags and not just ones warmed up from Shrek, I expect to enjoy this.

Archaia

Jim Henson’s The Dark Crystal: Creation Myths, Book 1 - I just introduced my son to The Dark Crystal and Labyrinth a couple of weeks ago, so this is great timing. He had the same questions about The Dark Crystal‘s world that I always do, so I’m looking forward to seeing Archaia’s take on answering those. Totally feel like the world’s in good hands with this publisher and these creators.

The Sigh - If Archaia’s snagging Marjane Satrapi’s (Persepolis, Chicken With Plums) new book has been reported already, I missed it. I’m surprised that wasn’t bigger news.

Siegfried, Volume 1 – I’ve been meaning to read P Craig Russell’s Ring of the Nibelung adaptation for years, so I think this might be what pushes me to finally do it. It would be fun to read Russell’s and compare it to this version by Alex Alice.

Bone: One-Volume Color Edition

Boom!

Seven Warriors #1 – Francis Manapul draws this story of seven warrior-women who fight to save the king of 6th-century Libya from the armies of the Persian and Byzantine empires.

Betrayal of the Planet of the Apes #1 – I’m absolutely loving Boom’s ongoing Planet of the Apes series, so I expect to also like this mini-series set during the events of the ’68 film and featuring Dr Zaius.

Operation: Iron Cross #1 – Boom’s already got my attention this month, so this WWII spy thriller also stands out.

The first volumes of Stan Lee’s Soldier Zero, Stan Lee’s Starborn, and Stan Lee’s The Traveler - After Graeme’s warm recommendation of Boom’s Stan Lee line, I want to check them out. And at $10 each, these are made for checking.

Peanuts #0 – I’m still curious to know who the creators on this are, but the idea of new Peanuts material is exciting and Boom has a good record for getting this kind of thing right.

Cartoon Books

Bone: The One-Volume 20th Anniversary Slipcased Color Edition - The affordable version I’ve been waiting for. It’s still $150, but that’s money well spent on a book this good-looking.

Dark Horse

House of Night #1 – Ordinarily I wouldn’t be excited by yet another vampire story set at yet another school for supernatural teens. And indeed, I haven’t paid any attention to the series of YA novellas this is based on. It’s Joëlle Jones and Karl Kerschl on the art that sells it.

Uncharted

Avatar: The Last Airbender, Volume 1 – The Promise, Part 1 – Aang’s adventures continue as written by Gene Yang (American Born Chinese).

Brothers of the Spear Archives, Volume 1 - Collecting the back-up stories to Dell’s Tarzan series featuring art by Jesse Marsh and Russ Manning. I haven’t read this stuff, but it’s ’50s jungle adventure, so I imagine that the standard warnings about racist characterizations apply.

Disney Comics and Stories Classic Characters #5: The Phantom Blot – We usually stick to comics in this column, but a Phantom Blot statue warrants an exception.

DC

Uncharted #1 – The treasure-hunting game that most makes me want to buy a PS3 becomes a comic with a Hollow Earth story.

Dynamite

Flash Gordon: Zeitgeist #1 – Dynamite puts their spin on the universe’s greatest space pulp hero.

EC

EC Archives - I know that EC’s been reprinting archive editions of Weird Science and Two-Fisted Tales for a little while now, but this is the first time I’ve noticed their getting a whole Previews page to themselves to advertise it.  Very eye-catching.

Mr Twee Deedle

Fantagraphics

Mr. Twee Diddle: Raggedy Ann’s Sprightly Cousin – The Forgotten Fantasy Masterpieces of Johnny Gruelle – I almost drowned in the amount of praise Fantagraphics poured on Gruelle’s work in the ad, but simply looking at the cover, it appears to be justified.

The Extraordinary Adventures of Adele Blanc-Sec, Volume 2: The Mad Scientist/Mummies on Parade – Even if I wasn’t already turned on to the awesomeness of Jacques Tardi’s Belle-Époquian heroine, “Mummies on Parade” would be enough to necessitate this purchase.

Athos in America – Jason returns to The Last Musketeer and includes other Jasony stories like “The Brain That Wouldn’t Virginia Woolf.”

Gumby Comics

Gumby’s Spring Specials Collection – I haven’t read these, but if they’re anything like the Gumby Summer Specials by the same creative team (Bob Burden, Steve Purcell, and Art Adams), they’ll be worth having.

IDW

Jack Avarice is The Courier #1-5 – I like the idea of a mini-series told in weekly installments over a month. That sounds cool and exciting, especially when it’s a spy/voodoo action-adventure thriller thingy.

Rocketeer Adventures, Volume 1 - The anthology about everyone’s favorite jetpack-wearing hero by everyone’s favorite creators is finally collected. I say “finally” like it’s been a huge wait only because it’s felt that way.

Hawken

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Micro-Series #1: Raphael - IDW’s determined to get me back into TMNT again. It’s working.

Godzilla: Goliaths and Gangsters – The Monster Island crime story is collected.

Godzilla: Legends #1 – TMNT isn’t the only IDW license getting a series of spotlight issues. In this one: Anguirus vs Destoroyah.

30 Days of Night: Night Again - The Joe Lansdale/Sam Kieth mini-series gets a collection.

Hawken #1 – IDW’s not going to let Oni and Image have all the Western weirdness with The Sixth Gun and Deadlands. And I can’t think of many artists I’d rather see do this kind of story than Tim Truman.

Shaman’s Tears - It’s been more than a decade since I read this story by Mike Grell, but my memory is that it was one of my favorite of Image’s second wave of creator-owned series. The other being Jerry Ordway’s WildStar, in case anyone wants to reprint that.

Image

Guns and Dinos #1 – I’m rooting for the dinos.

Mudman #1 – Paul Grist has a new superhero comic. That’s all fans of Jack Staff need to know.

Giant-Size Elephantmen #1 – I’ve got some catching up to do on Elephantmen and this inexpensive collection (three issues for $6) looks like a good place to jump back in.

Super Dinosaur

Girls: The Complete Collection – I got into the Luna Brothers’ creepy series late and always meant to go back and read the earlier issues, because it was really very good. It was underrated (the title and the abundance of naked women understandably leading many readers to think it was just about gratuitous nudity), but it’s a serious horror story with an unsettling vibe similar to something by Charles Burns.

Gladstone’s School for World Conquerors, Volume 1 – This collection was difficult to wait for, so I’m glad it’s here.

Reed Gunther, Volume 1 – Same with this one.

Super Dinosaur, Volume 1 – And this one too. Especially this one, ’cause I read the first issue and was immediately anxious to read the next. Fantastic, all-ages fun. Image is going to kill my wallet in November, but I’ll be smiling as I bury its poor, leather corpse.

Marvel

Northanger Abby #1 – Jane Austen’s parody of a gothic romance novel is as sensational as any actual gothic romance novel. I love Janet Lee’s work and am looking forward to this adaptation, but there’s a part of me that wishes Marvel had gone for a Haunted Love/House of Secrets vibe with it.

Six Guns #1 and 2 – It’s too soon to say that Western comics have made a comeback, but I’m really excited that we’re seeing so many of them lately. Even modern ones like this. Andy Diggle seems perfect for it too.

Victor Von Doom #1 – Doom’s early days as illustrated by Becky Cloonan. Thank you, Marvel.

Skaar: King of the Savage Land

Skaar: King of the Savage Land – Ka-Zar vs Son of Hulk, dinosaurs, and some giant robots.

Oni

Salt Water Taffy, Volume 5: Caldera’s Revenge, Part 2 – Jack and Benny continue trying to survive ghost ships and evil whale hunters.

Papercutz

The Smurfs, Volume 9: Gargamel and the Smurfs – I recently read one of Papercutz’ Smurf volumes to see what the fuss is about. I never really enjoyed the cartoon as a kid and I stayed far, far away from the movie, but Peyo’s comics are so well-liked that I got curious. And they’re really good. They remind me of what I loved about Casper when I was a kid: fantastic creatures having adventures in a forest fantasy world and occasionally learning some nice lessons about how to get along with other people. I’m looking forward to reading more.

That’s it for me. What are you looking forward to?

Popgun Vol. 3

Popgun Volume 3 (Image)–the latest installment in an anthology series often referred to as a graphic mixtape–is set to be released this Wednesday, April 8. This edition features another great bevy of talent and was co-edited by Mark Andrew Smith and D.J. Kirkbride. Editorially, this particular volume is a transition of sorts, as Smith will be moving on and Kirkbride will be stepping to the forefront editing Popgun Volume 4. We talked about working on this latest installment, the editorial process in general and a variety of other topics.

Tim O’Shea: How did the Tara McPherson cover come about?

D.J. Kirkbride: Mark and (Popgun co-creator) Joe Keatinge rocked that. So glad they did. Beautiful cover.

O’Shea: How did the two of you divvy up editorial responsibilities on Volume 3?

Kirkbride: Mark has this tower with a giant $ on the front of it. Inside is a sea of gold coins. He swims in them as if they make up a body of water, only coming for air to check his email and make Popgun demands and order Chinese takeout. Wait — what? You know, it’s been a pretty natural flow, with the divvying. He’s been at this longer than me, so I come to him for advice while trying to keep everyone rocking and rolling in an organized fashion. The book got done, so, uh, I guess it worked out.

Mark Andrew Smith: I think we’ve got a really good support team of editors and assistants and production editors that help out with everything and make sure that things get done. D.J. is taking over with volume 4, so here I was making sure that his Jedi training was complete. He’s graduated into a Master Editor, and the future of POPGUN is in good hands.

O’Shea: What are the biggest challenges to editing a book like this with myriad creators?

Kirkbride: Keeping good communication lines open. With so many creators and stories over a pretty long period of time between books, it’s easy for things to get a little harried or confusing some times. I’m convinced there’s a secret formula somewhere, and we will find it!

Smith: With such a massive book mostly keeping track of everything. I was doing it before in my head, but D.J. has discovered something called a “spreadsheet” that’s some miracle device. So I’m more the loose cannon, and D.J. is more of the straight and serious guy in this buddy cop movie.

O’Shea: How many different genres are featured in this volume of Popgun?

Kirkbride: Hooo boy… I think almost everything gets a shot. Fantasy/sci fi, certainly, plus some action, comedy, drama, horror — you name a genre, odds are it’s somehow in the book.

Smith: Yep — EVERYTHING.

O’Shea: In terms of developing this volume, as compared to past volumes–are there certain successes or elements that you learned from the past volumes that you two have implemented or capitalized upon?

Kirkbride: We seem to keep taking more chances. Not that volume 1 was timid, but it seems like we allow the envelop to be pushed a bit more and more with each volume. There are a couple stories in volume 3 that are really edgy, at least to me (I’m from the Midwest, though), but we’re really expanding our horizons and trying to truly have something for everyone in these books.

Smith: What D.J. said.

O’Shea: Paul Grist is using his Facebook account to advance market his contribution to the volume–have you heard about other unique marketing choices that contributors have opted to utilize?

Kirkbride: I love that Paul Grist is doing that. So cool! (And his story for Popgun 3, Eternal Warrior: Endings, is awesome, by the way!) We’re hoping that each and every creator will chip in when it comes to marketing. So many people work on the book that, if each of us tries to get the word out, it should be some crazy mass marketing. I’ve been locked in my room, proofing stories for vol. 3 and contacting creators for 4 for a while, though, with only two buckets, eleven cans of green beans, and a jug of water, so I’m not aware of what others might be doing at the moment, but hopefully our talented (and very handsome/pretty) contributors are out there, spreading the word.

Smith: Yeah, there are two hats that you’ve got to wear as a creator. One is creating the work and the other is going into marketing mode and promoting. Between all of the creators involved with Popgun, we do pretty well in both aspects. It’s great seeing Paul Grist use Facebook. A lot of other contributors have gotten creative in their own areas giving talks, going on radio shows, and doing their own promotion. With so many people involved the promotion fans out very widely.

O’Shea: Mark, this volume marks your departure from the Popgun project–what’s been some of the highlights of the project for you?

Smith: It’s been great from the start. With three volumes, I’ve co-edited about 1,500 pages of material and been surrounded by some very wonderful people. I really like the community that we’ve built with Popgun and that I really get excited by a lot of creators. So the people are really the highlights of Popgun for me and seeing the perfect story time and time again. It’s good getting the most talented people you know together and working together in a community and then seeing what comes out of it. Incredible.

O’Shea: D.J., what have you learned from working with Mark?

Kirkbride: I’ve learned from Mark that you only go over the top in arm wrestling when something is REALLY on the line — like your big rig or your son’s love. Really, though, Mark always has an eye toward the big picture, so I’m trying to learn from him the magic of not sweating the small stuff and just doing my best without obsessing. Forest for the trees — all that good stuff. I came during volume 1 as the Assistant Editor (a job now occupied by my hero, Adam P. Knave), mainly proofing stories… but Mark and Joe Keatinge really encouraged me to help out in other areas more and more and, after volume 2 when Joe decided to step down from the day-to-day of Popgun to concentrate on his dancing career, they really gave me a shot to co-edit here, and I appreciate it.

O’Shea: The initial volume was described as “well known names doing work they’re not known for, brand-new talent set to change the industry, and rare b-sides unearthed for the first time in years”. Would you say this description is apt for Volume 3? If so, can you discuss what new territory the well-known names will be exploring, the new talents set to make a name for themselves in this volume, and of course–are there any rare b-sides in this volume?

Kirkbride: It’s close, but it has evolved slightly. Certainly, we have some well known names doing different stuff — Sir Erik Larsen, for one, continues his trend of REALLY surprising us — but, actually, some of the other folks, like Paul Grist and Mike Dawson and Dan Brereton to name exactly three more, rocked out in very cool ways that will still be familiar to their fans. Some really stellar work from folks who we all look up to… The unearthed b-sides has kind of gone away, as we’re focusing on original material. Volume 3 is very exciting because we have so many new talents with really unique visions. I think readers should expect great things from every single one of them. Singling out any would be like telling my oldest son, D.J. the 3rd, he’s my favorite right in front of my daughter, Candy. (Interviewee’s note: I have no children.) So…

Smith: I’d really like to do some more rare tracks like with some Daniel Torres material that hasn’t been printed in a while or someone who I’m really excited about. We‘ve been so busy with original material that we focused on original work only. With this one it has mostly been new people and regular contributors, but the creators often rotate with each volume.

O’Shea: With all the small press publishing houses that are in the marketplace, how and why did Image ever embark on a project of this kind in the first place?–It’s nothing like anything else that the publishing house releases.

Kirkbride: Mark and Joe made this happen. How the heck DID you guys do it, Mark?

Smith: Joe Keatinge and I brought the evolution of the idea to Stephenson and Larsen at Image and they gave us the nod and told us to run with it. We did and now fast forward a few years later and here we are.

O’Shea: Were there any contributions that could not be included this volume for whatever reason that may pop up in Volume 4?

Kirkbride: Yes. We ended up with over 130 pages of completed and AWESOME stories that just couldn’t fit into this volume. Deciding what went into 3 and what we held for 4 — that was the toughest part of this job, in my opinion. The thing to understand is that all the completed stories were ones we’d approved or been following as they developed, and they were all great… it was just a matter of space and trying to find a flow in each book. We held onto some REALLY strong stories to give volume 4 a head start. It’s bittersweet in a way, but now volume 4 is already shaping up to be a great book, and we’ve just barely started!

O’Shea: Is there anything you’d like to discuss that I did not ask you about?

Kirkbride: I guess this is as good a place as any to mention Mark’s shoe addiction. Seriously, Mark, you have more shoes than you can ever possibly wear. Do you even wear a pair more than once?? Kidding. (I know he doesn’t.) The truth is that Popgun has been and continues to be an amazing experience, and I really do need to thank Mark and Joe for getting me involved –also, mad props to our production editors, Thomas Mauer and S.A. Finch, who have made these books look SO great and really keep it all together, as well as Adam P. Knave, who has stepped in as assistant editor for volume 3. It’s a big team effort. I’m really lucky to get to work with these guys as well as SO MANY amazing creators. Just as a fan, it’s cool to get new stories and be able to read them before anyone else.

Eternal Warrior

No doubt the minute I ask “Is this the first webcomic published on Facebook?” someone will point to one that’s already out there, but I’m pretty sure this is the first webcomic by Paul Grist published on Facebook. (And I do mean published versus promoted).

In a group called “Paul Grist’s Big Cosmic Comic,” the creator of Kane and Jack Staff is sharing the adventures of a character called the Eternal Warrior (not to be confused with the Valiant character of the same name). Two pages are up now, and he says he hopes to add at least one new page every week. Something I noticed about the Facebook photo interface is that when you click on one image, it takes you to the next … which seems like a really easy way to click through pages of a comic. Obviously they didn’t design it with that in mind, but it’s nice that it worked out that way.