The Infinite #5

Rob Liefeld said on Twitter that after four issues, his collaboration with writer Robert Kirkman, The Infinite, “is over.”

“Unfortunately creative differences have sunk The Infinite. It’s over,” he said, noting in another post that he and Kirkman’s Skybound imprint disagreed on an inker Liefeld was using for half of issue #5.

“Artistically, I’ll continue to seek out talented collaborators to work with that keeps me energized for the next 25 years,” he said, adding, “For 10 years all my printed work was printed from my pencils. Now I’m re-discovering the appeal of working with a variety of inkers.”

The fifth issue was originally solicited for last October, then rescheduled for February. Solicitations and covers had been released through April’s issue #8.

Word about The Infinite ending follows the news that another Liefeld book, DC’s Hawk & Dove, is also coming to an end. But despite that, Liefeld still has a pretty full plate, as he will start working on three other DC Comics in May, and his Extreme Studios properties continue to relaunch from a variety of creators.

via Multiversity Comics

Legal

Legal | A teenager was sentenced Monday to seven years in prison for his role in the July 2010 theft of a valuable comic collection from an elderly Medina, New York, man, who later died of a heart attack. Eighteen-year-old Juan C. Javier, who pleaded guilty last fall to attempted second-degree burglary, is one of seven people whom police say were hired by businessman Rico J. Vendetti to break into the home of Homer Marciniak to steal his comics. Marciniak, 77, awoke during the burglary and was beaten, suffering only cuts and bruises. However, he had a fatal heart attack later that day. Eight people, including Vendetti and Javier, were indicted in November 2010; the indictments were dismissed against four of the accused so the U.S. Attorney could charge them with murder under federal law. [The Daily News]

National Cartoonists Society

Awards | Michael Cavna talks with National Cartoonists Society President Tom Richmond about the addition of the Online Comics Strips category to the prestigious Reuben Awards: “This is definitely a “first step” in recognizing online cartooning in the NCS divisional awards. It’s been discussed and explored for several years, and there are a lot of challenges involved. I picked the brains of several big names in online comics, and worked with the board to try and come up with criteria for eligibility that were in keeping with the other divisions and the NCS rules. This is what we came up with.” [Comic Riffs]

Digital comics | Comics and religious apps account for the 10 top-grossing iOS book apps this week. [eBookNewser]

Digital piracy | Bryan Young consider who should shoulder the blame for comics piracy: “Comic publishers need to understand why people are doing it and address the issues. People are pirating these comics, right or wrong, because they don’t believe they should be paying the same price as for a print copy of a comic. It’s as simple as that. The average comic book, in print or digital, costs about $2.99 per issue. With print, you have printing costs, shipping costs, wholesale costs and everything else to contend with to turn a profit. It makes sense that they’re priced the way they are. But a digital comic? Digital comics have far less overhead.” [City Weekly]

Thief of Thieves #1

Creators | Entertainment Weekly chats briefly with Robert Kirkman about Thief of Thieves. [Shelf Life]

Creators | Young artists should have a five-year plan, Sean Gordon Murphy firmly believes, rather than sitting around tweeting and waiting to be discovered. He offers some concrete steps, some of which are counterintuitive: “With a little bit of effort, could you write a C+ story? Of course you could! C+ is better than most comics. We deal in an industry where characters fight crime in their underwear — don’t be intimidated into thinking you couldn’t put together a half decent script if you tried.” Writing is not only an asset for the beginning artist, he points out, it also helps them become planners. [deviantART]

Comics | Oliver Sava considers what makes a good all-ages comic: “The best titles have elements adults can latch on to as well. Roger Langridge’s The Muppet Show is one of the best humor comics published in the past decade, using the comic-book form to capture the spirit and energy of the television series. Each issue has an overarching plot broken up by one- or two-page comic strips depicting the show’s different sketches, and Langridge’s experience with adult humor on titles like Fred The Clown keeps the jokes from being too infantile.” [The A.V. Club]

Eric Stephenson

This year marks the 20th anniversary of Image Comics, the company formed by a group of artists who left the security of work-for-hire comics to create and own their own comics. It’s been 20 years of ups and downs, but one thing that has remained consistent is a focus on creator-owned work.

With 2011 in the history books and their big anniversary kicking off with the first Image Expo, a new ad campaign and high-profile series by big-name creators like Brian K. Vaughan, Ed Brubaker, Sean Phillips, Jonathan Hickman, Nick Spencer and many more, I thought it was a good time to chat with Publisher Eric Stephenson about the state of the company, the year that was, their upcoming plans and anything else he was willing to talk about. My thanks to Eric for taking the time to answer my questions.

JK Parkin: Thanks for agreeing to do this interview, Eric. Incidentally, another feature we’re running as a part of our anniversary bash is one where we asked various comic industry folks about what they’re looking forward to in 2012. I got one back yesterday where the answer was basically “everything from Image Comics.” I find that interesting, because there’s a lot of diversity in Image’s line and although I think you guys probably publish something for every kind of taste, I wouldn’t think that every title would appeal to every comic reader. And yet I also find myself checking out at least the first issue of everything you guys have done lately. So from your perspective, what’s the unifying factor (or factors) right now among your titles, if there is one?

Stephenson: I think the main thing is that we’re moving forward and creating new things. We’re not content to just recycle the same old ideas month in and month out and then market it all as brand new. If this was another publisher, we’d be debuting our latest spin-off of The Walking Dead in March, but instead, we’re launching a new series by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples, a new series by Jonathan Hickman and Nick Pitarra, a new series by Joe Keatinge and Andre Szymanowicz, and so on. For 20 years, Image has put its faith in creative people, and it’s the power of their imagination that links all our titles together, now more than ever.

Parkin: Back in 2008, when you took your current job, you told CBR that one of your goals was “to make more people aware of some of the great comics Image is putting out, getting our books in front of more eyes.” From your perspective, are you meeting this goal? And what’s changed in this regard over the last three years?

Stephenson: I don’t know if you’re familiar with the fast food chain Hardee’s, but they’re a hamburger chain out in the Midwest and thereabouts. They were bought by the company that owns Carl’s Jr. here in California toward the end of the ’90s, but in the period leading up to that sale, they were kind of horrible. They developed a really bad reputation. After the takeover, they did some amusingly blunt ads that basically said, “We don’t suck anymore,” that attracted a bit of attention, but ultimately, the thing that turned their business around–and along with Carl’s Jr., they’re one of the top fast food chains in the country today–is that they started making better burgers. They stopped sucking, basically, and I think the message there is pretty simple: Quality never goes out of style.

Hardee's old logo

Using that as kind of a point of reference, I don’t think I’m speaking out of turn by saying Image has produced its fair share of shit over the years. You win some, you lose some, right? Well, I think we got to a point a while back where the losses were outnumbering the wins, and regardless of whether it’s right or wrong, reputations are based on things like that. And that affects everything: How retailers order the books, how people perceive the books when they see them on the stands, how creators weigh their publishing options. I don’t think we were ever in as dire shape as Hardee’s, but our reputation had definitely suffered, and I think the main thing that’s changed over the last three years is that Image is perceived in a much different–and much better–light.

It’s an ongoing process, though. I don’t think the work of making readers and retailers more aware of what we do ever really ends, regardless of the level of success. For every great new series we launch, there’s always going to be someone pointing at one of our missteps from the past. It’s that old “fool me once” thing–some people, especially retailers, remain skeptical. It’s a trust issue, basically, and ultimately, the only way you earn that trust–or earn that trust back, if that’s the case–is to keep producing the best work possible. Things are looking good on that front.

Parkin: 2011 was an “up” year for you guys, in terms of overall sales, on top of an already strong 2010. Looking back, what factors do you think led to this success?

Stephenson: I don’t mean to sound repetitive, but I do think a lot of it has to do with not running on the spot. We’ve continued to move forward, you know? It hasn’t hurt that The Walking Dead is a tremendously successful television show, but let’s be clear–if we were just pushing out spin-offs of The Walking Dead and publishing a bunch of crap alongside that, our situation would be much different right now. We got a bit lucky in terms of the timing, I think. The Walking Dead show on AMC came at a time when we were actually ready to capitalize on it.

Parkin: As far as digital goes–I don’t think I can do an interview anymore without asking a “digital” question–I believe most, if not all, of your books are coming out digitally on the same day the print version hits comic shops. What kind of affect has going “same day digital” had on digital sales? Have print sales been affected? What plans do you have next year to get digital comics in particular in front of more people’s eyes?

Stephenson: Same day as print for digital has helped, definitely. There’s been no negative impact on print sales so far, at least nothing that’s particularly quantifiable anyway. Something I rail on about from time to time is that it’s not necessarily the same audience, and I think that’s kind of the beauty of it all. Having digital sales as an option broadens our reach. It broadens everybody’s reach.

I think people spend too much time hemming and hawing over format, really, and with that in mind, our plans for 2012 are less about just narrowing our focus on digital, and more on reaching out to more readers across the board. We’re going to do everything we can to raise awareness of Image in general, which serves the purpose of exposing more people to our comics, whether the format is digital or print.

One of Image's new print ads

Parkin: Speaking of raising Image’s profile, you sent over a sample from an upcoming ad campaign. Can you talk a little bit about the concept behind it? And where will it be appearing?

Stephenson: Yeah, that ad will start running online and in most of our comics this week. We’re doing one of these a week over the course of the year, each focusing on a different creator, and there will be some video components to the campaign as well.

The message is pretty simple: Our business thrives on creativity.

Everyone else throws their weight behind characters, behind IP. We put ours behind the people create those characters and develop that IP. The men and women who write and draw comics are Image’s–and this industry’s–most valuable resource. It takes a certain amount of bravery to create something of your own and share it with the world. We support those people, and we salute them.

Parkin: You guys put out a lot of new books in 2011 that shined the light on several new creators. Were there one or two projects you personally were particularly proud of in this regard?

Stephenson: The Strange Talent of Luther Strode is something I’m specifically proud of. I think Justin Jordan and Tradd Moore are doing great work with that, and it’s been a real pleasure to see that book do as well as it has. Witch Doctor is a similar story–Robert found Brandon and Lukas and they’ve done some amazing work on that book. I think it’s cool when someone kind of comes out of nowhere like that and just immediately start producing these great new comics. There’s also Kurtis Wiebe and Scott Kowalchuk on The Intrepids. That book flew a bit under the radar for a lot of people, I think, but Kurtis and Scott are both tremendous talents that I think people need to pay more attention to.

The Activity #2

Oh, and man – Nathan Edmondson! I really can’t say enough about Nathan. Nathan did a book for us with Christian Ward called Olympus a while back, but as good as that was, it didn’t quite prepare me for Who Is Jake Ellis? or The Activity. There’s more where that came from, and I really couldn’t be happier to have him here at Image.

Parkin: One Image book that had a lot of good buzz going this past year was Nonplayer #1, which came out early in the year and while initially under-ordered, seemed to do well in its second printing. Nate Simpson went on to win the Russ Manning Award at the Eisners this year. But then Simpson posted on his blog that he was involved in a bicycle accident that left him in a sling. Can you give us an update on how Nate is doing?

Stephenson: Well, Nate’s finally drawing again, which was welcome news to receive. The original plan was to get Nonplayer out twice a year, and I hope we’ll get back on that kind of schedule at some point in the future. It’s too early to say just yet, though, and really I’m just happy Nate wasn’t more seriously injured and that he’s on the mend. We should have the second issue out sometime around the middle of the year.

Parkin: It also seemed to be a good year for older Image properties as well. Witchblade hit its 150th issue, Walking Dead is on its way to issue #100 and was a constant on the New York Times bestseller list. I think you guys published, what, 15 issues of Spawn this past year? And Savage Dragon doesn’t seem to ever miss a beat. How do you keep the creative momentum going on long-running titles, and how do you get new readers to check them out?

Stephenson: It’s not always easy, especially with something like Savage Dragon. Erik and I actually talk about this a lot, because he’s been doing Savage Dragon for 20 years, and he is the sole creator. He writes it. He draws it. We can’t spike sales with a new writer. We can’t promote a new artist. It will always be Erik Larsen. No one other than Dave Sim has committed to the kind of undertaking Erik is engaged in with Savage Dragon, but longevity isn’t something that’s necessarily rewarded these days. Erik provides a unique comics reading experience with the book, though, and ultimately, I think that becomes a selling point of its own. Erik has his own sensibilities and there’s just no other comic like Savage Dragon.

Witchblade #151

On the other hand, we’ve got things like Witchblade or The Darkness, which is rapidly closing in on its 100th issue, and they do undergo changes in their creative teams. Tim Seeley is taking over Witchblade with #151 – I just got a printed copy of that today, actually – and I think people are really going to like what he’s doing with that. It’s a new beginning for the character and whether you’re a fan of Tim’s or a fan of the character, it’s great work. David Hine and Jeremy Haun take over The Darkness with issue #101 and that’s going to be a great jumping on point for that book, too. We could have relaunched that with a new number one, but you know – that’s been done before. It’s been done to death, in fact. There has never been a Darkness #101 before. There actually haven’t been a lot of #101s where independent comics are concerned. There’s like a handful and Spawn, Savage Dragon, Witchblade and The Darkness are amongst them. I think that’s something to be proud of, frankly.

And you’re right, there were 15 issues of Spawn during 2011, and that’s something to be proud of, too. Todd and his team took that book from being months behind and got it back on track, and better yet, did so not only without sacrificing quality, but by upping their game. That book is currently the best it’s been in years and years, and I think it’s really cool that with everything else he does, Todd was able to kind of regroup and infuse the book with some new energy.

Parkin: Speaking of older properties, Extreme is back, and it’s where you got your start in the industry. Now that you’re seeing new kids playing in the sandbox you helped create back in the 1990s, is there any urge on your part to jump back in on the creative side and work on any of the titles?

New Men

Stephenson: Rob and I have talked a bit about adding New Men to the line-up, so that’s kind of a possibility, but I don’t know. We’d have to find the right artist, especially given that the previous artists on that title–first Jeff Matsuda, then Todd Nauck and then Chris Sprouse–were such amazing talents. I kind of think of Todd as the definitive New Men artist, because he and I worked really closely on the book and did all but what?–nine of the issues together. But he’s busy with a new project, and I don’t think he’s sitting around thinking of ways to eliminate all his free time by taking on another series. I always liked those characters, though, and under the right circumstances, it would be fun to revisit them. I’d have to have time, too, because I have a couple projects of my own that are moving along at a dreadfully slow pace. I have the first issue of a new series sitting here that is completely drawn, colored and lettered, but no one’s going to see a page of it until I’m certain it can come out regularly, and there are a lot of other factors involved in making that happen. My absolute first priority is Image Comics and whatever creative work I do comes well behind that.

Parkin: Looking at 2012, it’s the 20th anniversary of Image, and you’ve announced several new projects by big-name creators (like Fatale and Saga), as well as the Image Expo in Oakland this spring. What else does Image have planned to celebrate the big anniversary?

Stephenson: Our primary focus over 2012 is to publish great new comics. We got a little lucky in that we have some outstanding work by some truly brilliant writers and artists on tap for our anniversary, and I think that’s the best way to celebrate 20 years of creativity. We hit the ground running this week with Ed and Sean’s Fatale #1 and we’re just going to keep going from there. Every single one of our 2012 books is going to be worth watching.

We have a couple of fun retrospective things we’re doing–there’s going to be a series of tribute cover variants by a single artist. I know some people groan at the merest mention of variants, but these are done out of fun and they’ll make a nice little set when they’re all out. There will be a couple other things like that, but really, we’re celebrating our 20th anniversary by being at our all-time best.

Parkin: Do you have specific goals set out for Image to achieve in 2012? What do you think will be the biggest challenges for Image in 2012?

Stephenson: I think the biggest challenge is pretty much the same as it’s been the last few years, because I think we all know there are segments of this industry that take almost a strange kind of pride in complacency. There’s a growing aversion to new ideas that I find really puzzling, because this entire business was built on new ideas. It’s self-sabotaging, and it gets a bit depressing, really, because it reduces this business to… Have you seen Midnight In Paris? Owen Wilson’s character in that, he’s writing this novel about a guy who owns a nostalgia shop, a shop where people can kind of wallow in the ephemera of the past. If all we’re going to do as an industry or even as a readership is cling to the past, then that’s what the direct market will become: a dwindling handful of nostalgia shops catering to the narrow interests of a greying market that collects the same thing month in and month out, out of habit or misty-eyed sentimentality. Because that’s the crossroads we’re at: We can either move forward and support the kind of unbridled imagination that has fueled this industry since it began, or we keep rummaging about in the same old bag of tricks until it’s finally empty.

Savage Dragon #177

So that’s the challenge. And it’s a big challenge, but our goal at Image, going into 2012, is to remind everyone that creativity is the lifeblood of this industry. Creativity gave us Superman. It gave us Batman. It gave us The Spirit. The Fantastic Four. Spider-Man. Cerebus. Maus. Watchmen. Sandman. Sin City. Spawn. Savage Dragon. Hellboy. Bone. Stray Bullets. The Invisibles. Transmetropolitan. Y: The Last Man. The Walking Dead. Scott Pilgrim. The Umbrella Academy. Kick Ass. Every great success this industry has ever known is the result of creativity.

And creativity doesn’t come from playing it safe, and it doesn’t come out of nowhere. It starts with people, and over the course of the next year, Image Comics is going to shine a light on all the wonderful creative people we work with, because if creativity is the lifeblood of this industry, then creators are its heart. We’ve been behind the men and women who enrich our lives with the fruits of their imaginations for 20 years, and this year, it’s our mission to make that commitment clearer than ever.

Parkin: As far as projects go, we’ve heard about comics like Fatale, Saga and Thief of Thieves by big-name folks, but Image is also really good at finding unknown or new talent. Is there a particular project coming up in 2012 by someone we may not have heard about that has you particularly excited?

Stephenson: Yes.

Parkin: What’s the status of Image United?

Stephenson: Me sobbing uncontrollably in the bathtub? (laughs)

Seriously, it’s being worked on. Slower than we would all like, for sure, but it’s coming along. The unfortunate reality of the situation is that not finishing it sooner complicated things more than it should have. With six different artists all working on almost every page, once things started to run off the rails, we began running into scheduling conflicts that became more and more unavoidable. The good news–or the better than completely fucking terrible news, really–is that the fourth issue is very close to being finished. At this point, the goal is to complete the remaining three issues and release them monthly sometime in 2012.

Parkin: DC and Marvel seem to always be under the gun to produce books with female lead and/or female creators. How is Image doing on the female lead and female creators front?

Stephenson: That’s a tricky question, because there’s a very profound difference between Image and DC/Marvel and that’s that we don’t dictate who our creators are or what they do. If female creators don’t pitch projects to us, then we don’t have projects by female creators, and we don’t receive that many pitches from women. Blair Butler brought us Heart, though, and Emi Lenox did EmiTown here. Marian Churchland won a Russ Manning award for her graphic novel Beast, and she’s done some great work on Elephantmen. Half the staff here in the Image office are women.

Saga

You just noted that Witchblade recently hit #150–it’s the longest running independent comic with a female lead. Glory, Hack/Slash, Avengelyne and Shinku all feature female leads, and while I realize the politically incorrect satire of Bomb Queen may not be for everyone, the title character is definitely a woman. One of the biggest books we’re putting out this year is Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples’ Saga, and one of the main characters in that is female. Alpha Girl seems pretty self-explanatory. Next month, we’re publishing more work by Emi, along with a new autobio book by Natalie Nourigat. Blair is putting together another project for us, and those are just the things I’m at liberty to discuss right now. Every now and then we’ll reach out to someone specific – I’d love it if we were working with Marjorie Liu, for instance, and getting Pia Guerra to do something here would be a dream come true, and the same goes for Chynna Clugston – but ultimately, it all comes down to when people are available and whether they actually have something they want to do.

Or to put it another way: If you’re a female writer or artist with an awesome creator-owned project you’d like to get off the ground, send me an email. Even if you’re just thinking about it and you have some questions about how Image works or whatever – send me an email. If I get eight killer proposals, then that’s eight new Image books by female talent. It’s that simple.

Parkin: Speaking of pitches, how many do you receive via email in a given week? And how many of the blind ones go on to become comics?

Stephenson: Dozens. I get dozens of proposals every week, but very few are accepted. In the 10 years I’ve been on staff at Image, I think we’ve accepted fewer than 10.

Parkin: On your personal blog, where you occasionally talk about Image and the industry and what not, you also spend a lot of time talking about music. As we move into the new year, what’s on your playlist right now?

Stephenson: You know, it’s a funny thing with my blog. When I first started it, I was really reluctant to focus too much on the industry or comics at all. I was mainly doing it for my own edification, just keeping a journal about things that caught my attention, but the comics stuff slowly crept in. It’s hard not to comment on certain things, whether it’s something I’m excited about or something that rubs me the wrong way. Usually, though, I’m waxing enthusiastic about the things I love, and a great deal of the time, that’s music. I’m pretty sure I would fade from existence without music, it’s such a vital part of my life.

Future of the Left: Polymers are Forever

Playlist-wise… I listen almost exclusively to vinyl at home, and I’m always on the hunt for more – I just picked up albums by Horace Silver, the Detroit Emeralds, Marvin Gaye, Joni Mitchell, Fairport Convention, David Bowie and the Swingle Singers, and then there was that big Smiths box set with all the remastered albums. There’s just so much great music out there, and it’s fun to kind of connect the dots between different things.

Probably the thing I’ve been listening to most frequently over the last couple weeks, though, is this EP by Future of the Left called Polymers Are Forever. That made me go back to the band that Future of the Left grew out of, Mclusky, and start listening to those albums again, which I hadn’t done in quite a while. Both bands are so loud and angry, but not necessarily in the way you might expect. A good touchstone might be Big Black, or maybe Shellac. There’s a lot of dark humor to their lyrics and that always appeals to me. They have a full album coming fairly soon called The Plot Against Common Sense and I’m looking forward to that. I’ve really been enjoying this album by a guy called Jonathan Wilson, too. It’s called Gentle Spirit and it has a very Laurel Canyon in the early ’70s kind of vibe about it, if you know what I mean. I have the same sort of outlook to music that I have towards comics, or anything, really–I like discovering new stuff. Like everyone, I have my old favorites, but there’s nothing quite like the experience of coming across something new.

Judge Bao and the Jade Phoenix

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, “ Wonder Woman 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.

Archaia

Judge Bao and the Jade Phoenix - A detective story set in ancient China. Plus: cool name.

Avatar

Dicks #1 – Garth Ennis and John McCrea’s humor makes my top hat explode and my monocle fly off my face, but I remember this being pretty popular back in the day and I imagine that it’s new presentation in color and leading into a new storyline could make it popular again.

Bongo

Ralph Wiggum Comics #1 – This, on the other hand, is exactly my kind of funny. Kind of like 30 Days of Night, I’m astonished no one’s thought of it before. Too bad it’s just a one-shot, but hearing that Sergio Aragones is one of the contributors makes me want to poke myself with my Viking helmet to see if I’m dreaming.

Terror on the Planet of the Apes #1

Boom!

Terror on the Planet of the Apes #1 – Boom continues its domination of the Planet of the Apes by reprinting classic stories from Marvel’s time with the concept. Between Rise of the Planet of the Apes and Boom’s other PotA comics, I’ve been itching to read these stories.

Adventure Time #1 – As much a welcome no-brainer as Ralph Wiggums Comics. Oh, man. Now I want a crossover!

Dark Horse

Conan the Barbarian #1 – Not only does this have Brian Wood and Becky Cloonan; it also features one of my favorite Conan characters, Bêlit the pirate queen.

BPRD Hell on Earth: The Long Death #1 – The Mignola-verse is managing to come out with some kind of first issue or collected volume just about every month now. That’s amazing. In this mini-series, the team returns to the spooky woods from New World.

Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi #1 – If this had come out fifteen years ago when I was still voraciously devouring all the Star Wars EU history I could get my hands on, I would’ve been dancing like a Twi’lek slave girl over finally getting the story of how the Jedi came to be. It’s one of the few events in Star Wars history that haven’t yet been explored.

Dark Horse Presents #9 – Featuring Tarzan, Lobster Johnson, and the world’s largest pirate ship. Not in the same story, unfortunately, but still pretty cool.

DC Universe Presents #6

DC

DC Universe Presents #6 – The Challengers of the Unknown take over the title with a beautiful, fantastic cover by Ryan Sook.

Legends of the Dark Knight: Jim Aparo - This isn’t even out yet and I’m already impatient for Volume 2.

Northlanders, Volume 6: Thor’s Daughter - I’ve been looking forward to finally trying out Northlanders with this volume. Telling the story of the Siege of Paris through the eyes of a Viking woman is a great hook.

Dynamite

Warriors of Mars #1 – Edgar Rice Burroughs’ John Carter stories couldn’t be more different in tone from Edwin Lester Arnold’s goofy Lieutenant Gullivar Jones: His Vacation, but the similarities in concepts (Southern soldiers transported to Mars where they fall in love with princesses) has had fans and writers making connections between them for decades, including Alan Moore in League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. Now Dynamite’s taking a turn with Carter’s princess (or her people, anyway) kidnapping Gullivar’s.

First Second

Friends With Boys - I’m all for three things: First Second publications, Faith Erin Hicks comics, and stories about people learning to communicate with people unlike themselves. No, wait: four things. Ghost stories.

The Big Town

Fantagraphics

The Big Town - Charles Schulz’ son wrote this novel (the last in his jazz-age trilogy) about the end of the Roaring Twenties and “the role of business, crime, morality, and love in our lives.” It’s not comics, but it sounds ambitious and transporting.

Humanoids

Celestial Bibendum – New York is now on the Seine and there’s a lonely seal named Diego living in it. That’s weird enough that I’d like to know more.

IDW

Road Rage #1 – You might think that the short story “Trucks” was Stephen King’s ultimate homage to the Richard Matheson novella Duel. After all, “Trucks” was collected in Night Shift and King himself directed the movie adaptation of it, Maximum Overdrive featuring Emilio Estevez, AC/DC, and a giant Green Goblin mask. What you might not know is that King also collaborated with his son Joe Hill on a biker-gang novella called Throttle that’s more directly inspired by Duel (which you probably remember was also adapted to film as Stephen Spielberg’s first feature-length project). IDW is now adapting both Duel and Throttle to comics with this four-issue mini-series.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Volume 1: Change is Constant – The first issues of the new, ongoing series are collected.

Jack Avarice is the Courier - I love the way IDW released this mini-series: weekly over the course of a single month, then the entire collection the month after that. I’d love to know how it sold for them, but for me as a consumer, that’s a perfect system.

Thief of Thieves

Image

Thief of Thieves #1 – Some new guys named Robert Kirkman and Nick Spencer team up to write one of those crime comics the kids love these days.

Glory #23 – Rob Liefeld’s Extreme relaunch continues to impress me with the talent it’s choosing. In this case, Joe Keatinge (Popgun) and Ross Campbell (Shadoweyes) offer a very different take on the Wonder Woman archetype.

King City - Brandon Graham’s masterwork is finally collected.

Marvel

Winter Soldier #1 – The closest thing we’re going to get to a Black Widow comic right now.

Ka-Zar by Mark Waid and Andy Kubert, Volume 2 - Ka-Zar vs. Thanos. ‘Nuff said.

Metropolitan

Journalism - A collection of short comics by cartoonist/war-reporter Joe Sacco.

Moonstone

The Lone Ranger: Vendetta - The concealed cowpoke and Tonto investigate a serial killer with possible connections to the Ranger’s dead nemesis, Butch Cavendish.

Rohan at the Louvre (French edition)

NBM

Rohan at the Louvre - A newly famous mangaka meddles with a cursed painting deep in the bowels of the famous museum. This will not end well.

Oni

Sixth Gun, Volume 3 – Trade-waiters have reason to whoop it up now that the next installment of the awesome Weird Western is on its way.

Courtney Crumrin, Volume 1: The Night Things Special Edition – The comic that put Ted Naifeh on so many radars gets color and a hardcover.

SLG

Malleus Maleficarum: A Guide to Catching Witches - Everyone’s favorite Inquisitorial treatise on How to Hunt and Torture Pagans, the Homeless, and Other People You Don’t Like is adapted to comics.

Top Shelf

Harvey Pekar’s Cleveland – One of the last projects Pekar worked on before his death is also – according to Alan Moore’s intro – “one of [his] very greatest works.”

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

Hello and welcome to What Are You Reading? Our special guest today is Andy Burns, editor-in-chief of the pop culture site Biff Bam Pop!, which is doing a holiday gift guide with giveaways through Dec. 24. You can follow them on Twitter for more information.

To see what Andy and the Robot 6 crew have been reading, click below …

*****

Tim O’Shea

Super Dinosaur

Super Dinosaur #6: I appreciate the fact that Robert Kirkman is writing a smart kids book with this series. What I mean is the villains are not easy cardboard stand-ins that get the crap kicked out of them by the heroes. The villains in Super Dinosaur, look in the metaphorical rear view mirror and actually say, “Hey, this guy is dragging us down, let’s dump him” as happens in this issue. It’s refreshing to see villains that conduct (off panel, thankfully) lessons learned meetings. Also, it is intriguing to see how Maximus poses more of a challenge to the heroes as their prisoner versus when he was free.

FF #12: In between Fantastic Four #600 and FF #12, apparently Dragon Man was transformed into a creature that thinks he’s part monkey. How else do you explain why new series artist Juan Bobillo (who loses an “l” in his name in the actual credit page, but they get it right on the cover) has Dragon Man walking on his hands and feet? In general, if I was not still interested in Hickman’s plot, I would not return for FF #13. Bobillo is a great artist, and in fact this issue he renders the kids with some great facial reactions and moments, but he just does not strike me as a good fit for this story. Case in point, the issue opens with Val translocating (Val’s word, not mine) part of the Baxter Building into the side of a mountain. A great visual storytelling opportunity for an artist, but with Bobillo, he went with a faraway shot to convey the scope of what had occurred…that just left me feeling unimpressed.

Wolverine #19

Wolverine #19: Anytime where I get to write “Logan saves a bar in this issue” is a win for me. I will be curious to see if in the next arc writer Jason Aaron maintains the whimsical tone prevalent in this arc. I hope so, but most may not see that as the proper vibe for the main Wolverine book. Time will tell.

Thunderbolts #166: Time travel allows writer Jeff Parker to throw this Thunderbolts cast into any era he wants to. And thus, placing the team in 1888’s London in a tale titled “The Ripper Tour” is fine choice. I have a sneaking suspicion that Parker and artist Declan Shalvey (the latter being perfectly suited to draw a story in this era) are leading us to think one thing about certain ‘Bolts that will be revealed otherwise in the next installment of this arc.

Herc #10: The series that I enjoyed (but sadly not enough folks joined me in the fun) comes to an end with this issue. As I read this issue, I found myself wishing I could read 10 issues of mortal/bloated Zeus serving as a sidekick to his son, Herc. Writers Greg Pak and Fred Van Lente try to squeeze in as much as they can (sans kitchen sink) with appearances by both Kingpin and Elektra. What I appreciated about the use of these two characters is that it made sense in the larger scope of current Marvel continuity to use these characters. Added bonus? You get to see Elektra smile in this issue, something I do not think I have ever seen. The end to the series is quite satisfying, if all too soon for my preferences.

Daredevil #6

Daredevil #6: I hope whomever replaces Marcos Martin on the alternating arcs understands as well as he did what Waid is trying to do with this series. When approaching Marvel characters in particular, Waid seems to like to consider the physical mechanics of the characters. I recall the writer discussing during his Fantastic Four days how it might sound when Reed stretched, or what the noise Ben would make when he walked (the stones of his body crunching against each other). In the instance of Daredevil, Waid is having a field day exploring the nuances of what the hero’s heightened senses can detect. Also,I think Waid is building Matt as a character going through recovery, trying to reclaim a great deal of what he has lost and regain the ability to smile again–and mean it (even though often he may not feel like smiling). If you are not reading Daredevil (and Waid admits in the must-read Tucker Stone interview with him that it is not selling as well as he would hope a critically acclaimed book would [“It's doing okay sales wise, but it's not blowing the roof off the joint.”]), you are missing out on the strongest, and most refreshing, approach to the character since Frank Miller.

Andy Burns

Morning Glories

Morning Glories – When it comes to this series from Image, I’m really just a raving fanboy. I was a little behind on picking it up, but I wound up getting the first 12 issues via a comiXology sale a few months back (note: I read the majority of my monthlies digitally at this point). By the end of that first issue, I was completely hooked on the story of the students entering Morning Glory Academy. Joe Eisma’s art is wonderful to look at, while Nick Spencer’s writing is seriously special. He’s got unique voices for all the characters and is clearly building his tale in each issue. The common refrain you’ll hear about Morning Glories is that it’s a cross between Lost and Runaways–I think it’s a fair comparison, but it’s also one that puts a hell of a lot of pressure on the creators to deliver monthly. Amazingly, Spencer and Eisma seem to be doing so with ease. Hands down my favourite series at the moment.

Ultimate Spider-Man – I consider myself a Spidey fanatic, but I’m not a fan so entrenched in the mythos that I get up in arms when great change occurs. For example, when “One More Day” went down I wasn’t screaming bloody murder (and I actually really enjoyed “One Moment In Time”). So when it was announced that we’d be getting a new Ultimate Spider-Man, well, that didn’t phase me either. Instead, I wanted to see what Brian Michael Bendis was going to come up with Miles Morales. Four issues in and honestly, I love the book. I love Bendis’ writing–the language just feels right. The conversations between Miles and his buddy Ganke sound genuine and real. Even better, Bendis isn’t rushing the story at all. It’s not just throw on a suit and instant superhero. He’s taking his time to make Miles Morales a believable hero, which means as a reader I’m becoming more invested in the character with every issue.

This Haunted World

This Haunted World – This apocalyptic supernatural thriller from Sea Lion Press is a digital exclusive, written by Mark Powers and illustrated by Rahmat Handoko. Something to consider for creators and companies working in the digital realm–make sure your descriptions for a given title are solid and evocative. I wound up taking a chance on This Haunted World because the description was really interesting and evocative. The 99 cent price point didn’t hurt either, mind you.

Legends Of The Dark Knight: Marshall Rogers – Just because I’m a digital comic geek doesn’t mean I still don’t enjoy holding a nice hardcover collection in my hands. A few weeks ago on our site, writer JP Fallavollita recommended our visitors check out this new hardcover compilation of artist Marshall Rogers’ Batman stories. I wound up picking up the book a few days after the recommendation and I’m glad I did. There’s some classic moments in the hardcover, including Hugo Strange auctioning off the secrets of Batman/Bruce Wayne and appearances by Rupert Thorne, all stuff I’ve never read before. Rogers’ art holds up nicely decades later, as does the writing of Steve Englehart, Denny O’Neil and others. It’s definitely of a certain moment in time, but one worth revisiting.

Dead of Night

Dead of Night – This is the latest novel from Jonathan Maberry, who has done lots of work the last few years with Marvel, including the two mini-series, Marvel Universe Vs The Punisher and Marvel Universe Vs Wolverine. Dead of Night is the story of a zombie outbreak that occurs in the small town of Stebbins County, Penn. It’s a quick-moving read that never sacrifices character development for cheap scares. I’ve known Maberry for a few years now and what amazes me about him is that as good as he was with his first novel (2006’s Ghost Road Blues), he legitimately keeps getting better with every piece of work he puts out.

As we noted on Sunday, The Walking Dead co-creator Robert Kirkman was a guest on The View‘s “Halloween Spectacular” episode, where he survived a gauntlet of questions about his popular creation, zombies and zombie survival. You can check out Kirkman’s appearance below; his “Zombies 101″ segment begins at about the 11:20 mark, after the first commercial break.

ABC’s talk show The View will host their annual “spooky Halloween spectacular” episode this Monday, and who better to have as a guest than the creator of the hottest horror property around, Robert Kirkman. The Walking Dead creator is scheduled to be Whoopi Goldberg and co.’s first guest, so check your local listings and set your DVRs accordingly.

Optic Nerve #12

Welcome to What Are You Reading? Our special guest today is Chris Duffy, editor of First Second’s Nursery Rhyme Comics. We spotlighted this anthology project all week here on Robot 6; check out our interviews with Chris as well as contributors Scott C., Aaron Reiner, Richard Sala and Eleanor Davis.

And to see what Chris and the Robot 6 crew have been reading, click below.

*****

Tim O’Shea

Resurrection Man

Resurrection Man #2: The writing team of Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning has increasingly grown on me in recent years. But what is really selling me on returning to this series with issue #3 is artist Fernando Dagnino. Whether intentional on his part or not, there are moments that Dagnino’s approach with this book reminds of Butch Guice’s style (the artist on the initial RM run).

Mister Terrific #2: After I read this issue, I mentally kicked myself for the waste of money. The art on this book is just incredibly rushed and uninspiring (by Gianluca Gugliotta — which is a shame as he has a two-page splash at one point with the lead character that is quite exquisite), which could be overlooked if Eric Wallace’s plot did not leave me wanting far more.

Batman and Robin #2: Writer Peter Tomasi constructs some great moments between fathers and sons in this issue (Alfred and Bruce, Bruce and Damian). And after thinking that DC editorial had settled Damian into a traditional sidekick role, I was pleasantly surprised to see Tomasi inject a bit of old (character roots) internal good vs. evil conflict back into the character.

Alpha Flight #5: The art of the bait and switch is something that is used to great effect in this series, repeatedly—and I have to tire of it. Also intriguing to see the character dynamics between Taskmaster and Puck. Glad this series has become an ongoing.

FF

FF #10: This is the best art I have seen from Barry Kitson in a very long time. I am unsure if he was experimenting with a change in his style, or had been rushed, on past assignments—but this issue is visually strong thanks to him. And my FF series rule that the title reads better when Sue Richards appears still holds true (she is in this issue). As a 1970s fan who always loved the surprise cliffhanger, this issue ends on a solid note (and no, it’s not Johnny Storm alive).

Super Dinosaur #5: Robert Kirkman writes an appealing all-ages book with this project. Note I said all ages. Yes, my 12-year-old son book will enjoy this book. But of equal importance, his 43-year-old dad was thrown and hooked by the big reveal in this issue.

Uncanny X-Force: The Apocolypse Solution trade paperback: While I have been reading Rick Remender’s Venom series, I had not checked out this series. The NYCC announcement that he would be taking on Secret Avengers (with one of my favorite artists Gabriel Hardman), I thought it would be a good time to consider the writer’s approach on this X-covert title. Fortunately two of my pals at the local comic book store (thanks Dugan and Mike) steered me toward this first trade collection for the series. Artist Jerome Opeña (who I first took note of when he teamed with writer Stuart Moore in 2004 on Dark Horse/Rocket’s Lone) is perfectly suited for these clandestine affairs. And I like that it seems the dirty work this team must do keeps them out of most X-crossovers that occur, making it even more of an accessible read for me.

The Shade #1: Good giggly wiggly, how did I not know that this maxi-series involved one of my favorite artists, Cully Hamner. Call me crazy, but Hamner’s ever-evolving eye for distinctive and cinematic layouts is steadily making him this comics era’s Alex Toth. I have a new theory about James Robinson’s writing (which was last consistently engaging on his long and beloved Starman run), if he can write a story that has a member of the O’Dare family (or maybe it’s the fact he’s back in Opal City), but something in Robinson relaxes and he delivers a solid story (this maxi-series features Shade’s girlfriend, Hope O’Dare). While the issue opens and closes with a simple three-word phrase: “October brings melancholy”—a great deal happens in between that phrase and its repeating. Welcome back, Opal City. Now if someone can just find a way to bring back Sue and Ralph.

Chris Mautner

In preparation for my upcoming big Comics College post on Grant Morrison, I read his entire run on JLA, which I had more or less avoided up until now. To be honest, I wasn’t terribly impressed by it and am not quite sure why it’s garnered so many accolades. It strikes me overall as very shallow work; very plot heavy and so focused on having a grand, epic narrative that it misses the deeper themes and character touches that I think make Morrison such a noteworthy writer. In short, it’s all rather shallow and nowhere where as rich as say, Doom Patrol, or Invisibles. Plus, while I don’t like ragging on artists, I must say that Howard Porter’s pencils do absolutely nothing for me.

Shade #1

Shade #1 — Why couldn’t the bulk of the new 52 titles be as well plotted and entertaining as this issue? I’ve never read James Robinson’s run on Starman before and know nothing about the Shade, but I found this to be a smartly plotted, entertaining superhero comic that had me curious to eager to find out what happened next. A good deal of this success should be laid at artist Cully Hamner’s feet. My only gripe is regarding the gore at the end that seems a bit excessive to me. I feel like a prude complaining about this stuff, but it feels so out of place in an otherwise disarmingly charming comic.

Tom Bondurant

So there I was, enjoying the heck out of Scott Snyder and Sean Murphy’s American Vampire: Survival of the Fittest #5, when it hit me — didn’t Brian Azzarello and Cliff Chiang make fun of the whole cool-trend-mashup thing five years ago, when they turned the Nazi Lord Julius into a vampire named Primaul (TM) in “Architecture & Mortality?”

Then I remembered Julius was a Nazi vampire gorilla, and that made it OK.

Kidding aside, SOTF was a really fine adjunct to the main AV series, because man were those Nazi vamps some scary f’ers. Most of issue #5 involves a blow-the-doors-off chase scene, with our heroes using a death ray to melt a path for their motorcycle down the side of a mountain as a giant monster tears into said Nazis and tanks are plummeting off said mountain too closely for comfort. Contrast that with the quiet epilogue, which reminds us why Felicia and Cash were tearing down the mountain in the first place, and you get an excellent example of the skills of all involved.

The Unwritten

The Unwritten #30 (written by Mike Carey, drawn by Peter Gross with Vince Locke) was a melancholy, heartbreaking conclusion to the Golden Age arc “On To Genesis.” I keep wanting to introduce this series to my friends and family who are Harry Potter fans, but it has gone so far beyond Potter pastiche that the comparison no longer applies. “Genesis” brings together a forgotten superhero and Frankenstein’s monster as Tom’s friends and allies in his war with the shadowy forces who seek to rule (to keep ruling?) over … well, over all of human culture and history, I guess. This time, though, the superhero is just one facet of a tragic figure who, like Tom, straddles the line between human being and literary creation. On one hand you’re grateful for the life he has, but really it’s not that great of a life. The events of the issue provoke a final-page act of defiance from Tom, energizing the series for the next big (biweekly!) arc.

Finally, I’ve been going truly old-school with my super-team reading, having picked up a copy of All-Star Comics Archives Vol. 1. So far I’m only through the first story, the Justice Society’s first appearance in issue #3, but — and I know how this sounds — I’m a little surprised at how well it holds up. See, for those who don’t know, the first story isn’t really a JSA adventure in the way we might think of one. Instead, it’s a set of individual adventures united by a framing sequence after Johnny Thunder and his Thunderbolt crash the weekly JSA meeting. (Subsequent stories were apparently more conventional.) What’s more, the individual stories were produced by the characters’ regular creative teams — so Gardner Fox and E.E. Hibbard drew the Flash chapter, Fox and Shelly Moldoff drew the Hawkman chapter, Jerry Siegel and Bernard Baily drew the Spectre chapter, etc. This is hardly an uncommon practice today, but it’s not what I was used to (having grown up on the Justice League and its fancy-dancy single creative team). In fact I found it pretty charming, especially at the end of each story when a wide-eyed Johnny Thunder would get some reassuring moral from Doctor Fate or the Spectre. I’m not used to supernatural figures, who play with forces which would make mere mortals pee their pants in awe and/or terror, sounding like your favorite uncle. There’s eleven more of these Archives, and I have the first of Roy Thomas’ All Star Companions as well — so I may have to buy a new bookshelf….

Chris Duffy

Ilium

Ilium (novel) by Dan Simmons: I read Hyperion this summer by the same author and ate it up! Ilium is less absorbing at first but it builds curiosity and suspense about the fate of humankind as it goes. It’s a book with not one but about 17 high concepts going on at once. (That’s what Hyperion was like as well.) Far-flung future. It stars a handful of old-style humans (like us), a group of robots from Jupiter’s moons (who are more human than humans), and a resurrected Homeric scholar who it watching the story of the Iliad play out…on Mars. It’s actually much stranger than that sounds. This Simmons guy has written a lot and I plan to try more after this.

Action Comics by Morrison and Morales: I really like watching Superman’s origin retold with a new twist: Superman is actually an interesting character. You wonder what makes him tick. Plus there’s a lot of ACTION. Reminds me a bit of the Tom DeHaven Superman novel (which was great).

Anya’s Ghost by Vera Brosgol: I liked it a lot–very well told teenage ghost story (for teens and starring teens, including the ghost).

Duncan the Wonder Dog: I have only read a page, but it looks pretty good. I’m a sucker for stories about animals with human intelligence. That’s what this is, right?

Optic Nerve #12: Buy this floppy! Adrian Tomine is one of a kind. This issue has two stories. The first is “Hortisculpture,” told in daily strip format with a full page Sunday-style comic after every 6 strips. A middle aged landscaper hears the siren call of a new art form–a melding of sculpture and horticulture. Get it? Hortisculpture! The strips move forward in a really endearing way–the kicker panels are always great little character moments. It’s not always hilarious (nor is it always meant to be) but I really like all the people Tomine creates. “Amber Sweet” ran originally in the New York Times. It’s a doppleganger story with a porn twist. It reads perfectly as a short story. The highlight of the issue though: the letters page. Tomine runs letters that are endearing, crazy, angry, condescending, litigious, and broken-hearted. The longest one sounds like it was written by a Tomine character– a student who adapted an Optic Nerve comic into a play and presented it as his own work. Strange enough to do it, but to then write to the cartoonist and fess up? Oh my god, I would read a book of these.

Ed Brubaker

iFanboys Ron Richards caught an interesting little aside on Image Comics publisher Eric Stephenson’s blog. Today at 4 p.m. Eastern, Stephenson will join Robert Kirkman, Rob Liefeld and Tim Seeley for the panel “Creator-Owned Comics with Robert Kirkman.”

“We won’t be joined by Ed Brubaker. Or will we?” Stephenson writes.

Is this a tease that Brubaker may be doing something for Image Comics? That might be jumping to conclusions, especially since Brubaker seems to be pretty busy at Marvel with Captain America and his various Icon series. But you may remember that Kirkman and Stephenson held a similar panel in San Diego this past summer, where Brian K. Vaughn and Fiona Staples’ upcoming project Saga was announced.

“The BKV announcement was THE news of the show, so, it’s safe to say there’s some level of expectation for a similarly sized announcement,” Richards said on iFanboy. And a new Brubaker-at-Image project would certainly fit that bill.

I guess we’ll find out at 4 p.m. if a) they actually are joined by Brubaker at the show and b) if he’ll be there to announce something. Maybe he’s just interested in talking about creator-owned comics …

Update: Brubaker was only at the panel in video form, but they did announce Fatale, an Image series by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips.

Sparkplug Books

Publishing | Emily Nilsson, wife of Sparkplug Books publisher Dylan Williams, said she plans to continue running the publishing company after the death of her husband. “We need your support now as much as ever,” she said in a post on the Sparkplug blog. “We are grieving at the same time as we are trying to keep business afloat, and trying not to overstrain ourselves. We want to publish again soon but that is a step we will consider more once we get through the next few months.” Nilsson, Virginia Paine and Tom Neely will continue to run Sparkplug, with plans to continue online sales and attend conventions like the upcoming MIX in Minneapolis next month and the Brooklyn Comics and Graphics Festival in December. Williams passed away in September due to complications from cancer. [Sparkplug]

Legal | Michael George, the former comics retailer found guilty of murder for the second time, is in the Macomb County (Mich.) jail after his bond was revoked following Tuesday’s verdict. George was found guilty of murdering his first wife Barbara in the back of their comic book store in 1990. “The family’s ecstatic,” said Barbara’s brother Joe Kowynia. “There’s no way a jury is going to get this wrong twice. I feel sorry for my nieces, this is long overdue. Now that this is over, Barb can rest in peace. And we can move on and he can rot in jail.” [Detroit Free Press]

Creators | Brian Heater talks to Art Spiegelman about MetaMaus, his book about the making of Maus. [Publishers Weekly]

Marjane Satrapi

Controversy | Nessma TV president Nebil Karoui apologized for airing the animated version of Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis in Tunisia, as one scene from the movie led to an attempted arson attack by a mob at the station. The offending scene concerns an old, bearded image of God, of whom all depictions are forbidden by Islam. “I am sorry for all the people who were disturbed by this sequence, which also shocked me,” Karoui said. “I believe that to have broadcast this sequence was a mistake. We never had the intention of attacking sacred values.” [Independent Online]

Comics | Brian Truitt talks to writers Stan Lee and Terry Dougas about Romeo and Juliet: The War, their upcoming science fiction-via-Shakespeare graphic novel. [USA Today]

Comics | Fantagraphics publisher Gary Groth talks to Geoff Boucher about the publisher’s upcoming Carl Barks collections. [Hero Complex]

Robert Kirkman

Creators | Robert Kirkman discusses the upcoming second season of AMC’s The Walking Dead, the comic series, various Skybound projects and more. [Fangoria]

Creators | Mike Allred talks about his as-yet-unfinished and out-of-print Golden Plates series, which adapts the Book of Mormon into comic book form. [Slate]

Creators | Alan Moore discusses his current non-comics projects, including the novel Jerusalem, as well as his feelings on comics: “At the moment I feel an awful lot of my comic career is behind me, particularly all of the superhero stuff – the stuff that’s owned by American corporations. I want to distance myself from that, so the stuff I’m proudest of is what I own: From Hell, Lost Girls, The League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen. I don’t read my earlier work because there are too many unpleasant associations with it. I don’t have a copy of Watchmen in the house. I’m glad the work is out there in the world, having an effect, but it’s like I’ve gone through a messy divorce.” [Metro]

DC Comics

Commentary | Tom Spurgeon shares nine thoughts on “potential advantages [DC Comics] might enjoy moving forward,” as they move into the second month of the New 52 relaunch. [The Comics Reporter]

Retailing | Caleb Goellner speaks with comics retailers about how they’re coping with the current marketplace and economic factors, and how customers can help shops remain stable during tough times. [ComicsAlliance]

Comics | The Washington Post’s Wonkblog has an early look at Health Care Reform: What It Is, Why It’s Necessary, How It Works, possibly the wonkiest graphic novel ever, written by MIT professor and health-reform architect Jonathan Gruber and illustrated by Nathan Schreiber. [Wonkblog]

A funny thing happened while listening to a recent Word Balloon interview with Robert Kirkman; Kirkman talked about his desire to see Invincible continue with different creative teams after he’s done with the book, and I ended up thinking about the nature of work for hire in independent books.

Okay, so maybe “funny” wasn’t the right word.

For those scared that Kirkman talking about this meant that he was planning to leave his Image Comics superhero title anytime soon, you can relax; he was talking about an imaginary distant future when he’s senile, and said that he planned to stay on the book until #300 or so. But it got me thinking: For some reason, I tend to imagine indie comics as bastions of creator-owned work, like Cerebus and Bone, where long-running series just end when creators are done. For some reason, the idea of work for hire seems… well, more Marvel and DC’s thing.

It’s a ridiculous attitude, of course; independent comics are under no requirement to concentrate on creator-owned projects, and if nothing else, the prevalence of licensed titles (IDW, Dark Horse and Dynamite alone could keep creators afloat on these kinds of titles) disproves my bias without breaking a sweat.

But, still. At its heart, there’s really nothing that wrong with Robert Kirkman wishing that he could read new Invincible when he’s 60 years old; it’s that whole “I love these characters so much I wish I could be a reader like you!” thing, after all, and which supporter of creator owned work hasn’t made the argument that owning your creations is like having a retirement plan in some sense? It’s just that… Well, I didn’t really think that the retirement plan would necessarily come at the cost of other creators following in their heroes footsteps so literally, I guess.

There’s something about the idea of Invincible, or Haunt or similar projects, superhero titles where the selling point really is that certain creators are working on it rather than the characters themselves – The entire Image launch books, for example – that feel as if the very idea of their being turned into WFH books is missing the point of their very origin. It’s enough to make you want to invent a time machine and go back to those characters’ creators at the point of origin and say “You know how you’re inventing new characters because you feel really strongly about creator rights and that you want to own your own work and that kind of thing? Can I steal you into your future so that you can remind your future self of that fact?” Maybe it’s just youthful idealism meeting more mature reality, but do so many people really have to try and become that thing they rebelled about years earlier?

Launched in July 2010, the Image Comics imprint is home to Kirkman’s books, most prominently The Walking Dead and Invincible, as well as hand-picked additions like Brandon Seifert and Lukas Ketner‘s Witch Doctor, and the recently confirmed Thief of Thieves, a collaboration between Kirkman, Nick Spencer, Shawn Martinbrough and a rotating roster of writers.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Skybound Asia will be based in Singapore, allowing the imprint to distribute directly to regional markets. The new venture will have a presence this weekend at the Singapore Toy, Game & Comic Convention.

“The next step for Skybound and The Walking Dead in particular is the evolution into a global brand,” Kirkman says. “Partnering with Moving Images to form Skybound Asia is the first logical step toward that goal. It will allow us to gain a foothold in emerging markets in order to bring Skybound comics and products to an entirely new fan base.”

In an article by William Keck for TV Guide, the TV critic reports that Kirkman is considering doing a “Volume Zero” of The Walking Dead, showing both the origins of the apocalypse as well as how Rick’s wife Lori and friend Shane went from “grieving friends to lovers.”

On multiple occasions since the beginning of the series in 2003, Kirkman answered questions about the origin of the zombie plague by saying he’d rather focus on the survival aspect, explaining that the main premise of the book is that it shows what happens after the end of a traditional zombie movie. The idea of a Walking Dead prequel, and as a standalone graphic novel, is an interesting prospect both for the story points as well as the potential sales juggernaut it could be. And for artist, would it be longtime artist Charlie Adlard, a return for original series artist Tony Moore, or perhaps some new third party in the mix? Time will tell.

The Infinite

To help Beach Ball Comics celebrate their 25th anniversary, the shop will host The Infinite creators Robert Kirkman and Rob Liefeld on Wednesday. The duo will sign copies of the first issue with an exclusive cover created specifically for the Anaheim, Calif. retailer.

This is one of five covers that together form the image up top; Beach Ball’s special cover features the character in the middle, Bowen. Three additional retailers will each have one of the other covers, while the last one will be available on the Skybound website.

You can find more details on the event and the covers in the press release after the jump.

*****

IMAGE LEGENDS ROB LIEFELD AND ROBERT KIRKMAN SIGNING AN EXCLUSIVE COVER AT AN EXCLUSIVE EVENT EXCLUSIVELY

Anaheim, CA: Two comic book legends are teaming up for the first time in this summer’s The Infinite published by Kirkman’s new Image Comics imprint Skybound, and Anaheim, California legend Beach Ball Comics has brought them together to celebrate! Kicking off their 25th Anniversary festivities, Beach Ball has a very special exclusive cover making its debut at this event on Wednesday August 3rd.

“We’re always looking for ways to bring the excitement of comics to our fans. So, when this historic creator coupling was announced, we knew we had to do something to have them both at Beach Ball,” says Beach Ball Comics and CornerStoreComics proprietor Thomas Gaul. “We can’t wait to take our exclusive cover out of the box on Wednesday and see the fan reaction, to both the book and the legendary creators behind it.”

Among the covers released to comics shops on Wednesday, the Beach Ball Comics Variant stands out from the crowd. It features main character Bowen, and serves as the centerpiece of a five-cover spread by series artist Liefeld. The remaining four covers will be available from three of the top comics sellers in the country, with the final piece available from the Skybound website.

Beach Ball Comics can be found at 3024 West Ball Road (at the corner of Beach Blvd) in Anaheim, California. The line for this exclusive signing begins when the store opens at 11am. Rob and Robert are scheduled to begin signing sharply at 4pm. Supplies of this cover are limited, so fans are encouraged to get there early.

Beach Ball Comics was founded in the summer of 1986, making it the oldest surviving comic shop in Orange County. The current owners took over in late 2008 and set about reinvigorating both the shop and the comics business in Anaheim, garnering “Best of” awards from the OC Weekly and MyFoxLA within the first two years, as well as an Eisner Spirit of Retailing Award nomination.

Saga

Three down, one to go … here’s a list of the major comics-related announcements made at Comic-Con International in San Diego on Saturday:

• A number of new projects were announced or promoted at Image’s Creator-Owned Comics panel, not the least of which is the return of Brian K. Vaughan to comic books. Vaughan will write a book called Saga, which is co-created and drawn by Fiona Staples. Vaughan told CBR that the book is “an epic drama chronicling the life and times of one young family fighting to survive a never-ending war. 100 percent creator-owned. Ongoing. Monthly. Fiona and I are banking issues now.”

• Image also announced that Walking Dead creator Robert Kirkman is collaborating with Charlie Adlard on a new series of graphic novels called Album. The books will be released roughly 18 months apart, 60 pages long, with different themes each year, with the first being Passenger. It’s co-published with Delcourt in France and will be available simultaneously in English and France.

• Jonathan Hickman and Nicky Pitarra will team up for The Manhattan Projects at Image. Hickman is also doing a book called Secret with artist Ryan Godenheim.

• Joe Keatinge and Frank Cho are teaming for a new comic called Brutal. The book stars Stone, a mysterious super-assassin who kills superheroes.

• Jonathan Ross and Tommy Lee Edwards will team up again for Golden Age, an ongoing comic about retired superheroes. Matthew Vaughn is attached to a film version adapting the first six issues. Ross is also working on a “reverse Superman” project called Home Life, about an Earth baby sent to another planet.

• Howard Chaykin’s Black Kiss will return to comics with a new miniseries at Image.

• Fantagraphics announced two major archival collections, the complete Zap Comics and the EC Comics Library.

Cable

• Marvel announced the return of Cable by Jeph Loeb and Ed McGuinness. “Those of you that are longtime X-Men fans – who I have tremendous respect for – when I first started at Marvel back when they were on paper was Cable,” Loeb said at the Cup O’ Joe panel. “He is a character that I love, and like all of you was absolutely shocked and terrified when he went down in Messiah CompleX and the Second Coming storyline.”

• Marvel also announced that their “Point One” issues in November will be stand-alone entry points, but will also set the stage for the next major crossover event next year.

• At the Vertigo: Fables panel, Bill Willingham announced a new Fables spinoff, Fairest. The creative team for the first arc, which will feature Sleeping Beauty, will be Willingham and artist Phil Jimenez.

• Justice League writer Geoff Johns revealed that the League’s mystery lady is Lady Luck.

• The protest against DC’s upcoming relaunch drew very few actual protestors. ComicsAlliance reports only a dozen or so protestors, mostly dressed as the Joker and Harlequin, showed up.

• Legendary Comics announced two projects, a new edition of Paul Pope’s Pulp Hope and a new series by Matt Wagner, The Tower Chronicles.

• Marvel is developing a live-action Mockingbird television series for ABC Family.

• Top Cow chief Marc Silvestri teased a possible Darkness origin story movie.

• The Amazing Spider-Man‘s Rhys Ifans, who plays Dr. Curt Connors, was issued a citation backstage after some sort of incident. Police said it was a “non-custodial misdemeanor arrest.” The movie’s star, Andrew Garfield, popped up at the microphone in the crowd dressed in a store-bought Spider-Man costume.

• Twentieth Century Fox is developing an animated feature based on the Mutts comic strip by Patrick McDonnell.

• Capcom confirmed the characters that were accidentally leaked on one of their servers will indeed be playable characters on the upcoming Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 game. On the Marvel side, the list includes Iron Fist, Ghost Rider, Dr. Strange, Nova, Hawkeye and Rocket Raccoon. On the Capcom side, it includes Strider, Firebrand, Vergil, Frank West, Nemesis and Phoenix Wright.

• Speaking of Marvel vs. Capcom, Udon announced they will create a “book of design and production artwork, as well as all new art pieces” based on the game. They also announced artbooks for the Sengoku Basara game franchise, the Valkyria Chronicles 2 game, and Persona designer Shigenori Soejima. Udon will also publish a two-volume manga for Sengoku Basara.

From Tim Bradstreet's "Walking Dead" poster

IGN.com has the first look at the limited-edition poster created by Tim Bradstreet to promote the second season of AMC’s The Walking Dead. Bradstreet and Executive Producer Frank Darabont will be on hand Friday at the show’s Comic-Con International booth (#3721) to sign the convention-exclusive posters. See the full image after the break.

The Walking Dead panel will be held at 11:15 a.m. Friday in Ballroom 20. The 13-episode second season of the series, based on the acclaimed horror comic by Robert Kirkman, Tony Moore and Charlie Adlard, debuts in October.

Thief of Thieves #1

Robert Kirkman has at last revealed details of Thief of Thieves, a collaboration with Morning Glories writer Nick Spencer first teased a year ago with the launch of the Skybound imprint.

The Walking Dead creator tells USA Today he’ll employ a writer’s room approach similar to what occurs with television series, with he and Spencer hammering out the overall plot, and a team of scribes trading off on story arcs. (It appears virtually identical to the model used by Dark Horse’s Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 8, on which Joss Whedon served as executive producer.)

Spencer will pen the first arc of Thief of Thieves, which follows an aging international art thief who decides to retire from the game and instead steal from other criminals. “He’s got this compulsion where he has to steal or he doesn’t feel like he’s living, but he doesn’t want to break the law anymore,” Kirkman tells the newspaper.

Shawn Martinbrough, known for his noirish approach on such titles as Luke Cage Noir, Angeltown and DMZ — he even wrote the book How to Drawn Noir Comics — will be the permanent artist. Kirkman will step in at some point to pen his own arc. However, he’s keeping the names of the other writers a secret; presumably at least some of them will be revealed this week at Comic-Con International in San Diego.

Visit USA Today to see a preview of the first issue. Thief of Thieves debuts early next year from Kirkman’s new Image Comics imprint Skybound.

Abrams joins the transmedia parade with two books about The Walking Dead, the Robert Kirkman zombie comic turned AMC television series.

The first book, called The Walking Dead Chronicles and due out in the fall to coincide with the opening of season two of the show, will cover both the comic and the making of the first season of the TV series and will contain lots of behind-the-scenes material, including interviews with Kirkman and someone almost as important, make-up artist Greg Nicotero, as well as comparisons of the comic and the show. No word yet on the second volume.

Abrams will, of course, be at Comic-Con and they will be promoting the book there, so stop by and have a look.

Brian K. Vaughan

Writer Brian K. Vaughan has been added to an Image Comics panel at Comic-Con International in San Diego, igniting speculation that the acclaimed co-creator of Y: The Last Man and Ex Machina will announce a new title.

The news came Monday from Image Publisher Eric Stephenson, who revealed on his personal blog that Vaughan will be among the special guests on the “Creator-Owned Comics With Robert Kirkman” panel, scheduled for 3 p.m. Saturday. “You’ll want to go to this panel,” Stephenson wrote. “Why? Well, we’ve roped Brian K. Vaughan into attending, along with some other great guests, so … yeah. Be there.”

It’s been nearly a year since the conclusion of Ex Machina at WildStorm, and more than three years since Y: The Last Man wrapped up its 60-issue run at Vertigo. Since then, there have been few clues as to what the Eisner Award-winning writer had planned next — a return to creator-owned comics or a continued focus on film and television projects. But this news certainly suggests we’ll be seeing a new book from Vaughan in the near future. As Ryan K. Lindsay writes, “Why else would BKV be there except to announce something new?”

Read the panel description after the break, and follow Robot 6 and Comic Book Resources for any developments on Saturday.

SATURDAY, JULY 23 – ROOM 7AB
3:00 – 4:00 PM CREATOR-OWNED COMICS WITH ROBERT KIRKMAN

Image Comics partner and best selling writer Robert Kirkman (THE WALKING DEAD) is joined by Image Comics Publisher Eric Stephenson and some very special guests to discuss the exciting present and future possibilities of creator-owned comics. Be one of the first to hear some major announcements from the leading publisher of creator-owned comics. Plus: exclusive print for first 100 attendees!

(via The Weekly Crisis)

The Walking Dead, Vol. 14

Retailing | Although the 14th volume of The Walking Dead wasn’t released until June 21, it still managed to secure the No. 2 spot on BookScan’s list of graphic novels sold in bookstores that month, behind the 51st volume of Naruto. It’s the ninth consecutive month that at least one volume of the horror series has appeared in the BookScan Top 20, a run that began as marketing geared up for the AMC television adaptation. [ICv2.com]

Publishing | Darwyn Cooke has announced that the release of Parker: The Martini Edition will be postponed for a few months, and takes full responsibility for the delay. The book is now scheduled to debut at the Long Beach Comic Con in October [Almost Darwyn Cooke's Blog]

Publishing | John Jackson Miller looks at the history of comics numbering, which he traces back to dime novels of the 19th and early 20th centuries: “Comics are anomalous in American magazine publishing because most comics don’t use volume numbers and issue numbers that roll over ever year; rather, the numbers keep on going. In that, our numbering is much like that used for the cheap, disposable fiction of the earlier days.” [The Comichron]

Creators | The Hollywood Reporter interviews The Walking Dead creator and Image partner Robert Kirkman about Comic-Con International, his favorite San Diego restaurant, what panel he’d stand in line for and his first CCI: “My first Comic-Con experience, in 2001, was absolutely horrible. I was a self-publisher doing a book called Battle Pope and I got far too big a booth for the popularity of my book and ended up losing quite a bit of money on that endeavor. In general, it was an amazing experience despite the relatively nerve-wracking loss of money at the time when I had relatively no income. I met a lot of people that were doing self-publishing at the time. I also got to meet some of the creators of Image Comics and talked to Erik Larsen to for a while, which ended up leading to me becoming a partner at that company.” [The Hollywood Reporter]

Guinea Pig: Pet Shop Private Eye

Creators | Eva Volin interviews Colleen AF Venable, who is both the designer for First Second Books and the writer of Guinea Pig: Pet Shop Private Eye, a series of graphic novels that has a Pixar-like ability to appeal to both adults and kids. [Good Comics for Kids]

Creators | Jim Woodring introduces his Congress of the Animals and shows some of his preliminary sketches in a talk he gave at the Elliott Bay Book Co., captured on video by Ian Burns of Fantagraphics. [Flog! Blog]

Comic strips | Puzzled by Beetle Bailey? Check out these videos of Mort Walker explaining classic strips from the 1950 and 1960s. [The Daily Cartoonist]

Comics | Larry Cruz discusses, with pictures, the life and career of Krazy Kat, including its appeal to the intelligentsia. It’s a good companion piece to last week’s Comics College by Chris Mautner. [The Webcomic Overlook]

Manga | It didn’t start with Sailor Moon: Molly McIsaac presents a short history of magical girl manga. [iFanboy]

Creators | Two manga artists, the winners of a competition sponsored by local businesses, are moving in to an apartment across the street from a legendary building where Osamu Tezuka and a host of other manga creators once lived. The idea seems to be support a tradition of comics creators in the neighborhood. [The Mainichi Daily News]

Reviews | Nina Stone reviews the fourth issue of Joe Casey and Mike Huddleston’s Butcher Baker, The Righteous Maker: “If this issue of Butcher Baker were a ride at a fair, it would be the Gravitron/Starship 4000.” [Factual Opinion]

How-to | The Papier Boy has step-by-step instructions on turning garden gnomes into superhero garden gnomes. [Instructables]