 |
Saturday, January 17, 2004
dude! our favorite rockstar cowgirl laurenn mccubbin is holding her first solo artshow at the buzz gallery in oakland from feb 20th to mar 8th, with a special opening night reception featuring music by the nervous breakdowns. i know where i'll be on the 20th.
posted by peter! 8:12 PM EST permalink
news: the latest fantagraphics newsletter had three interesting tidbits:
-- they've finally hired a direct sales representative in the form of tony shenton, who has done an outstanding job with my own book if i may say so. if you're a retailer, you can contact tony at shenton4sales@aol.com.
-- they're also polling retailers to see what the interest would be in a reprint of jessica abel's outstanding first issue of her latest serial, la perdida. again, if you're a retailer and are interested, please let greg zura know at zura@fantagraphics.com.
-- and, finally, rolling stone has run a two-page piece on joe sacco, spotlighting a number of his books from both fantagraphics and drawn and quarterly. look for the issue with the dave matthews cover. we reviewed his latest, the fixer, a month or so ago right here:
posted by peter! 8:02 PM EST permalink
link: brian hibbs, the proprietor of the san francisco based comic book store comix experience, has launched a new column at newsarama, which promises to pick-up where his last column in comics and games retailer magazine left off. (the previous column has been collected into the book tilting at windmills available from idw publishing.) now, i'll give him a few weeks to warm-up since he's a little rusty (i.e. blasting critics for using diamond's sales number to project the entire direct market, while doing the same exact thing by using bookscan's number to represent the entire bookstore market), but it should prove to be an interesting column to follow. [welcome back, brian.]
posted by peter! 7:54 PM EST permalink
"you think i look bad -- you should see the other guys..."
dino watch: interview with dean haspiel at bully magazine.
posted by peter! 7:40 PM EST permalink
link: the second part of scott mccloud's new webcomic "the right stuff" has been posted to his website. if you like the preview, the rest of it only sets you back 25 cents via bitpass. not a bad deal. scott's also throwing his hat into the blogosphere with "the morning improv" (poor guy).
posted by peter! 7:32 PM EST permalink
Friday, January 16, 2004
and brainpowered, too!
"American Big Media has recently announced the last dark little gem in its triple crown of doom for 2003. First, the music industry registered a major downturn. Then the movie business released reduced figures despite increased ticket prices and some of the widest release patterns in history. And now American network TV has revealed a reduction in viewing numbers. This last is apparently significant enough that advertisers are reportedly gathering to negotiate a reduction in the ad rates network TV charge. And since network TV is little more than a delivery system for advertising, people are starting to run scared. To the point where Jeff Zucker at NBC has suggested the previously taboo -- that perhaps too many suits are involved in the creative process, issuing too many conflicting notes and generally pissing in the drinking water."
(more)
posted by peter! 3:21 AM EST permalink
finally -- a new review!
"To mark our second birthday, we're mixing things up with a new format! Starting today, we'll be running new reviews during various days of the week instead of the weekly mass update beginning with...
"THE ANNOTATED MANTOOTH by Andy Kuhn, Timmy Fisher... and Matt Fraction!"
posted by peter! 3:19 AM EST permalink
news: checker books have announced that their collection of winsor mckay's early works will run eleven volumes. the first volume is already out, the second volume should hit the market any day now, and the third is slated for an april release. the series basically collects everything mckay produced through 1914 that they could get their hands on, except for the little nemo strips previously published by fantagraphics. visit the checker website for more info.
posted by peter! 3:18 AM EST permalink
news: the graphic classics anthology series has been quietly amassing into a library (supported by a very nice website at that). they've just released their latest volume featuring mark twain comic adaptations, which follows on the heels of their bram stoker, ambrose bierce, jack london, h.p. lovecraft, h.g. wells, arthur conan doyle, and edgar allan poe editions (whew!). here's the twain cover:
if you have trouble finding any of the volumes, click here.
posted by peter! 3:01 AM EST permalink
whoa: we turned two years old today.
posted by peter! 2:10 AM EST permalink
news: warren sent out an update on his present and future projects via his bad signal mailing list that confirmed that the previously announced new comic projects (black horses, stealth tribes, jack cross, desolation jones, faster, american space force, and down) are at various stages of development at different publishers. two projects, the operation (formerly at oni) and morning dragons (formerly at image) are off the schedule -- the rights have reverted back to warren. meanwhile, planetary is written through issue #21, with #22 in the works; and the eagerly awaited ministry of space #3 is entirely completed, pending publishing. (that's a lot of books, my friend!)
posted by peter! 2:01 AM EST permalink
Thursday, January 15, 2004
"Unfortunately the drawing continued to become somewhat atypical and aberrant and it was not long before it was impressed upon me that such images might not be suitable for public viewing. In the summer of 69 there was a valiant attempt to stop me from doodling infamous contemptible fascist dictators upside down on my stomach with a ballpoint pen. I was consoled however by the encouragement to continue penciling in faces of flamboyant cowboys such as Gene Autry, Roy Rogers, The Lone Ranger and Tonto on my toenails but was expressly forbidden to talk to them at night."
more at: www.raycaesar.com
contact ray at: ray@raycaesar.com
posted by peter! 10:47 AM EST permalink
Wednesday, January 14, 2004
LEVITZ ON THE DC-HUMANOIDS DEAL: "I think that you’ve got, as is usual, a multi-level challenge,” Levitz said. “The first challenge is that you’ve got to put the material out in a format and through a distribution system that is comfortable with it. The French album format, while gorgeous, is really a pain for bookstore shelves, and that’s been a tremendous disadvantage for it in recent years. It hasn’t really been able to get into the graphic novels sections of bookstores here in the US that we have fought for and hard won. So, I think we’ll be looking at a way to reformat the works in a way that is comfortable for both the comic shop and bookstore market so it will be treated with the care and respect that the artists and writers and comfortable with that translation into a new format."
•
Well, thank god that's all sorted out then.
posted by Matt 1:44 PM EST permalink
The countdown to Axel Alonso quitting Marvel continues, as Marvel announces the cancellation of Startling Stories: The Incorrigible Hulk, by Peter Bagge and the Ant-Man thing by Daniel Way.
posted by Matt 12:59 PM EST permalink
oh boy: i like stuart moore, but every so-often (more common then usual lately) he writes one of these "we-must-save-work-for-hire-superhero" columns for newsarama. i particularly like this bit:
"If, instead of Terrorism Stories, you write a solidly-researched Flash arc where he becomes involved in counterterrorist operations, you're bringing an existing readership with you to something new. And you may revitalize an existing comic by bringing new subject matter to it. (Flash is chosen purely at random here -- I’m not saying it needs revitalization.)"
yes, that's just what we need. after we save marvel and dc, we can rescue mcdonalds and burger king from mom-and-pop burger joints across the country...
posted by peter! 11:42 AM EST permalink
new manga: viz is launching a bunch of new graphic novel series this year, including "sensual phrase", the amazingly successful shojo series by mayu shinjo that sold seven gazillion copies in japan; "b.b. explosion", a more recent shojo series by yasue imai that'll feature an introduction by trina robbins; and, for the boys, "rahxephon", a mecha manga from yutaka izubuchi of lodoss war fame, and "megaman nt", the original manga version by ryo takamisaki of the popular cartoon now appearing on u.s. television. covers for the first three:
  
edit to add: artbomber Kelly Sue did/does the dialogue adaptation on SENSUAL PHRASE.
edit to add: matt, i had no idea -- that's really funny. go, kel.
posted by peter! 11:17 AM EST permalink
Tuesday, January 13, 2004
DC FORMS ALLIANCE WITH HUMANOIDS
In a move that will increase its bookstore presence and direct market share, DC and Humanoids have today jointly announced an agreement which will see DC act as the English language publisher for Humanoids. The agreement calls for the publication of 36 books per year.
Through the arrangement, Humanoids monthly offerings will move into the DC section ofPreviews, and will also be offered to bookstores via Time Warner’s bookstore distribution. As DC stated in a press release: The steady supply of graphic novels will support DC Comics’ continued efforts to aggressively expand into trade bookstores, while building on its impressive presence in the comic book specialty market.
(more in link. anything that brings more attention to humanoids should be a good thing, right?)
posted by Matt 1:04 PM EST permalink
promo: last month, we posted some artwork of the upcoming hi-horse omnibus anthology from alternative comics. jeff mason has created a promotional flyer, which i'd recommend you give to your local comics retailer if you're interested in the book. here's a thumbnail:
i love this cover:
(late for work -- should have some more updates tonight.)
posted by peter! 11:00 AM EST permalink
i have no idea what the fuck this is, but i glommed it off of rich's column at cbr today. apparently, old school creator michael netzer has lost his mind and become some sort of comics messiah.
"The comic book industry serves as one of the most potent powder keg microphones to the peoples of the world today. Only through creative comic book scientology can the comic book industry become the focus of innovative and creative guidance for world leaders and enterpeneurs in order to re-channel the world's resources so as to insure the successful deliverance of the entire human race from the calamity of despair which has overtaken our once hopeful stride towards a greener paradise. Only through such a declaratory mission statement can the comic book industry hope to burst out of its cocoon and spread its new wings of healing across the horizons of our history in the making which lay ahead.
"Only through a directive for the salvation of mankind can the real supeheroes, the comic book writers and artists, begin to direct a course for the saving of their own world."
only in comics...
posted by peter! 1:25 AM EST permalink
Monday, January 12, 2004
Profile > Eisner/Miller TPB
It would be hard to imagine any creators who have more greatly affected their chosen medium than Will Eisner and Frank Miller have influenced the world of comic books and graphic novels. Now, culture-curious readers and life-long fans of the comics medium are invited to read along as two of the medium’s greatest contributors—legendary innovator and godfather of sequential art, Will Eisner, and the modern master of cinematic comics storytelling, Frank Miller—discuss one-on-one, in an intimate interview format, the ins-and-outs of this compelling and often controversial art form. Eisner/Miller is widely illustrated and features rare, behind-the-scenes photos of Eisner, Miller, and other notable creators.
Pub. Date: April 2004
Format: Soft cover, 350 pages, Full color, 6' x 9'
Age range: 16
Price: $19.95
ISBN: 1-56971-755-9
posted by Matt 12:27 PM EST permalink
Sunday, January 11, 2004
sunday catchup:
-- isotope comics in san francisco is hosting a bunch of events to celebrate brian wood's birthday and the release of his new books.
-- the new york times is supposedly running comic reviews in today's city section, including a piece on sara varon's sweatherweather graphic novel. i'll post a link when i find one.
-- congratulations to robert mccarthy of viz comics for having his first prose fiction story published in strange tales of an unreal west, available at citylights bookstore in sf as well as online.
-- alan david doane has relocated his review archive from the now defunct comic book galaxy to a new home courtesy of simply comics, including the reviews for matt's last of the independents and my own killing demons. (shameless!)
-- and, for some sad news, bdnews is reporting the passing of french cartoonist, jean florian tello, who died way too early at 26 on jan 1st. (thanks nenad for the link.)
whew.
posted by peter! 3:23 PM EST permalink
archives:
11/30/2003 - 12/06/2003
12/07/2003 - 12/13/2003
12/14/2003 - 12/20/2003
12/21/2003 - 12/27/2003
12/28/2003 - 01/03/2004
01/04/2004 - 01/10/2004
01/11/2004 - 01/17/2004
01/18/2004 - 01/24/2004
01/25/2004 - 01/31/2004
02/01/2004 - 02/07/2004
02/08/2004 - 02/14/2004
02/15/2004 - 02/21/2004
02/22/2004 - 02/28/2004
02/29/2004 - 03/06/2004
03/07/2004 - 03/13/2004
03/14/2004 - 03/20/2004
03/21/2004 - 03/27/2004
03/28/2004 - 04/03/2004
04/04/2004 - 04/10/2004
04/11/2004 - 04/17/2004
04/18/2004 - 04/24/2004
04/25/2004 - 05/01/2004
05/02/2004 - 05/08/2004
05/09/2004 - 05/15/2004
05/16/2004 - 05/22/2004
05/23/2004 - 05/29/2004
05/30/2004 - 06/05/2004
06/06/2004 - 06/12/2004
06/13/2004 - 06/19/2004
06/20/2004 - 06/26/2004
06/27/2004 - 07/03/2004
07/04/2004 - 07/10/2004
07/11/2004 - 07/17/2004
07/18/2004 - 07/24/2004
07/25/2004 - 07/31/2004
08/01/2004 - 08/07/2004
08/08/2004 - 08/14/2004
08/15/2004 - 08/21/2004
08/22/2004 - 08/28/2004
|
|
