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Saturday, February 21, 2004
too much to blog, too little time: lots of other stuff to post, but we're off to ape. see you tomorrow.
posted by peter! 4:04 PM EST permalink
comics bad for marriage: the daily nonpareil of council bluffs, indiana, published this piece about the aging comic book reading audience: "'Kids don't buy comics these days; it's mostly adults. Kids want the video games,' said Chris Kline, owner of Comic City, 1720 N. 16th St. 'Most of my customers are about 26 on the average. A lot of them are single, too. Once you have a wife and kid, you can't afford this hobby, and most wives wouldn't allow it.'"
posted by peter! 4:02 PM EST permalink
let the good times roll: the hollywood reporter is, uh, reporting that the "comic book genre" is ready to explode again at the box office: "If you thought Hollywood's affection for comic books might be cooling, you can just fuggedaboudit. The comic genre is ready to explode again with Columbia's 'Spider-Man 2' and Warner Bros. and Village Roadshow Pictures' 'Catwoman' opening this summer on the heels of spring arrivals such as Revolution Studios and Columbia's 'Hellboy' and Lions Gate's 'The Punisher.' Just this week, the list of nearly 70 comic book based projects in various stages of development grew as Miramax announced that Kevin Smith will write and direct 'The Green Hornet,' which the studio plans to turn into a major franchise." more in link.
posted by peter! 3:58 PM EST permalink
Friday, February 20, 2004
The Pulse observes the 10th anniversary of Jack Kirby by speaking to several creatives about the man and his legacy.
There's irony, perhaps, in that by my albeit superficial skimming of the list PULSE spoke to, only 3 creators are working on projects currently that they themselves created.
So here's my personal tribute to the King: today, I'm going to create 5 entirely new ideas and then throw them away tomorrow morning, because the 5 ideas I'll have tomorrow morning will be bigger and better anyway.
posted by Matt 10:58 AM EST permalink
Marvel sees Image; Raises by partying like it's 1992.
Short of checking out the first few Grant Morrison issues, I've not read X-Men books since i was, oh, 16 or so-- 12 years ago, that'd be-- and when I did, they looked and sounded exactly like this.
Also-- and maybe it goes without saying-- nothing says "foward-looking creative visionaries" like ganking the already-lame-even-before-it-came-out suffix to the biggest dumbfunmovie letdown of 2003. I suppose "X-MEN: THE PHANTOM MENACE" wouldn't have cleared legal.
posted by Matt 10:36 AM EST permalink
party like it's 1993: jim valentino is out as the publisher of image comics. erik larsen is in. cbr has the story: "Jim came from very much the alternative camp of the world of comics and I'm much more from the mainstream, funny book, end of things. The thought was that if I was in charge and running the ship that perhaps some of those avenues can be opened up a bit more." arg.
posted by peter! 1:42 AM EST permalink
really, i'm not making this stuff up: the miami herald ran this piece last week about a so-called religious comics movement: "So begins Anointed, one of the comic books produced by a growing breed of Christian artists who are intent on taking wholesome, exciting and visually sophisticated works to a young generation nurtured on MTV, computer games and the Internet. 'It's an art form and we want to reclaim it, to produce content that is glorifying to God and edifying to children,' said Sherwin Schwartzrock, 33, a Minnesota artist who is co-creator of Anointed."
(insert sherwin schwartzrock joke here.)
posted by peter! 1:35 AM EST permalink
kelly sue says: "i have never been to san francisco before. i ate too much. i bought a new pair of shoes."
posted by peter! 1:22 AM EST permalink
Thursday, February 19, 2004
meanwhile, down under: the sydney morning herald ran this article today about etgar keret, the controversial israeli humorist and graphic novelist, who will be talking at the sydney writers festival this evening in australia.
posted by peter! 2:54 AM EST permalink
yeah, yeah, we mentioned this show yesterday, but we got name checked in the article: the east bay express has run this preview of laurenn mccubbin's new art show that is opening friday night at mama buzz in oakland.
posted by peter! 2:46 AM EST permalink
i guess massachusetts is the place to be these days: on the heels of the story i blogged earlier concerning north shore, here's a piece from the daily news transcript about norwood high school and the success of a new artist-in-residence program sponsored by the norwood cultural council that has enabled cartoonist leo abbett the chance to share his knowledge of cartooning and animation with students at the school.
posted by peter! 2:43 AM EST permalink
the only reason i'm blogging this is because i like the poster: icv2 has picked up this story from variety about a new kevin smith helmed green hornet film from miramax. i can't count how many times i've read about a green hornet revival over the years, but hopefully they'll have better luck this time. actually, i'm not sure i really care that much beyond this kooky poster:
posted by peter! 2:29 AM EST permalink
i thought kids didn't read comics anymore: here's a little story from the daily item, the local paper of north shore, massachusetts, that i found interesting about the peabody institute library's first young adult reading marathon: "There were a lot of materials to choose from, ranging from 'Mad Magazine' to the adult best-sellers 'Tuesdays with Morrie' and 'The Wisdom of Big Bird,' Japanese and American graphic novels and a variety of titles from the exploding young adult fiction market. Girls outnumbered boys on the covers, reflecting the fact that girl contestants outnumbered boys about 3-2."
posted by peter! 2:22 AM EST permalink
it may not be as exciting as the primaries, but: in follow-up to the story from the other day about censorship laws in michigan state, newsarama is reporting that the state of arkansas has also agreed not to enforce a similarly inane censorship measure called act 858 until the arkansas supreme court has had the chance to review the case. this legal effort is being supported by the comic book legal defense fund as well.
posted by peter! 2:11 AM EST permalink
Wednesday, February 18, 2004
new review: sick, sick, sick by jules feiffer
artbomb welcomes tom spurgeon to the fold:
"There was a time in the 1950s and 1960s when Middle America grasped onto totems of New York sophistication as a way to declare for themselves a measure of suburban cosmopolitanism. The cartoonists of The New Yorker were great beneficiaries of this impulse, and for years collecting their works enjoyed the same status New Jersey westward as ordering Chinese take-out or having shirts tailored at Brooks Brothers. Oversized books from Saul Steinberg, Charles Addams and Peter Arno dignified coffee tables from Des Moines to Denver, foreshadowing the current graphic novel explosion with their high production values, evident wit and sterling art. Jules Feiffer's SICK, SICK, SICK was more downtown than uptown, though it sold equally well to similar audiences..."
(more)
[tom is the co-author of stan lee and the rise and fall of the american comic book with jordan raphael, as well as a regular contributor to the comics journal. welcome, tom!]
posted by peter! 1:46 AM EST permalink
oh, lord: yeah, yeah, i like grant morrison comics as much as the next guy, but sea guy...? makes me truly afraid to ask what's next.
and it's, uh, for mature readers.
posted by peter! 1:43 AM EST permalink
still kicking: due to a delay in getting their solicitation information to their distributor, claypool comics will not be publishing any books this april. however, they aren't going anywhere and will be offering double the books in may, including issues of their soulsearchers, deadbeats and elvira comics.
posted by peter! 1:37 AM EST permalink
well, it's for a good cause: we usually don't run links to ebay items, but danny hellman is auctioning off the original sketch that art spiegelman did for "legal action comics #1" in order to help out cash-strapped publisher fantagraphics until the charles schultz peanuts money starts flowing in. the winner will receive the original sketch as well as a signed copy of the artist's proof.
posted by peter! 1:28 AM EST permalink
Tuesday, February 17, 2004
cue the exploding heads: icv2 has picked up this story from variety that david cronenberg has signed on to direct john wagner and vince locke's "a history of violence", the graphic novel from the same dc comics imprint that spawned "road of perdition". cronenberg has previously directed the acclaimed and controversial films scanners, videodrome, dead ringers and naked lunch, among many other of my personal favorites.
posted by peter! 10:49 AM EST permalink
common sense strikes again: the detroit news is reporting that the attorney general of the state of michigan is not going to enforce a new ban on the display of sexually explicit books and periodicals passed last year by the state government until it is ruled upon by the federal courts. the case has been championed by a number of booksellers and activist organizations including the comic book legal defense fund. link courtesy of newsarama.
posted by peter! 1:03 AM EST permalink
an inspiration for us all: al davison, creator of spiral dreams, will be speaking at oxford university this friday as part of their diversity week. here's the poster text: "Started drawing in the isolation unit in which he spent the first two years of his life. Born with Spina Bifida, described by one expert as 'a complete vegetable'. Decided to turn professional age three. Karate Blackbelt, Buddhist, vegetarian. Artwork first published at 17. Some vegetable... A talk by Al Davison, artist, graphic novelist, theatre designer, martial arts instructor, on a creative life with disabilities. Balliol. Friday of Fifth Week. 8pm. This event is part of OUSU's diversity week, and is organised by Disabilities Action. Contact: dan@ousu.org, matpaskins@yahoo.co.uk. Copies of Al's work will be on sale at the event."
more about al at astralgypsy.com.
posted by peter! 12:54 AM EST permalink
pinned redux: just a reminder about laurenn mccubbin's artshow that's opening this friday night at the buzz gallery (2318 Telegraph Ave @23rd, Oakland, CA 94612, 510.465.4073) at 7pm. i'll definitely be on hand with a number of friends including our own kelly sue, who may or may not be sporting red hair.
posted by peter! 12:39 AM EST permalink
oh, comics, i love you so: alan david doane interviewed comics writer tony isabella of "black lightning" fame yesterday, who had a number of blunt and interesting insights about the comics marketplace: "As for the current state of the industry in general, how sad is it that we practically orgasm when a comic book sells the hundred thou copies which comics routinely sold in decades past? We've lowered our expectations as we've raised our prices. American comic books, especially most of the periodicals, are not a good value for customers." more in the link above.
posted by peter! 12:36 AM EST permalink
Monday, February 16, 2004
don't call me crumb: the new york times ran this expose yesterday on "sophie", the creator of the recently released "belly button comix" from fantagraphics, who happens to be the daughter of indy comix pioneer robert crumb: "One new face who seems destined to go the distance, however, is the author of 'Belly Button Comix,' a 32-page booklet published last month by Fantagraphics Books in Seattle. Identified only as Sophie on the cover, she is in fact Sophie Crumb, the 22-year-old daughter of the legendary counterculture cartoonist Robert Crumb and his cartoonist-turned-artist wife, Aline Kominsky-Crumb."
posted by peter! 10:57 AM EST permalink
oni roundup: newsarama sat down with jamie rich and james lucas jones of oni comics to discuss the present and future of the publisher, including lots of details about their 2004 publishing plans. jamie: "The most obvious shift for us was downsizing the amount of serialized comics we were doing and have been doing a lot more original graphic novels. It seemed the right time to start making that shift, and it's definitely paid off."
posted by peter! 10:47 AM EST permalink
war junkie: rich johnston has details of a new garth ennis creator-owned series called "303" coming out this june from avatar in today's lying in the gutters. here's the cover:
posted by peter! 10:41 AM EST permalink
tilting at windmills again: brian hibbs, proprietor of comix experience, posted his second column at newsarama on friday, which attempts to debunk the growth of the bookstore and manga markets and extoll the virtues of the comic book direct market. after wading through voodoo economics (and over 3,500 words), hibbs doesn't really discover anything overly new: major american publishers continue to rely on the direct market for sales; major asian publishers continue to make impressive gains in the bookstore market; and indy publishers are kind of stuck in the phantom zone, hoping that the booktrade shines a spotlight on them, but still relying on the direct market to eek out their nut. he does make one very disturbing point towards the end:
"Theoretically, manga is being sold to a demographic largely not being serviced by DM retailers – teens and tweens, especially young girls. (The reason that these demographics aren't being well-served is because comic book stores are largely destination stores. You have to seek them out to find them.) However, this demographic is another reason why I hedge my bets in declaring any victory for manga – teens and tweens are notoriously fickle and disloyal, and very seldom do you get something with long-term bounce from that bracket."
and he's right: the direct market has *never* been a sales channel that serviced kids or teens, who traditionally bought their comics from the primarily defunct newstand. the dm was basically a place for comics enthusiasts -- fanboy geeks and art comix elitists alike -- to get their weekly comics fix. it was purely a niche play. but when the newstand market essentially walked away from comics, publishers panicked and put all their marbles into the dm. this resulted in the dubious "maturization" of super-hero comics that we see today; a repositioning of books that were once created for kids and teens to an aging fanboy base of thirty-forty somethings. the problem that the dm faces is that without the existence of the newstand market to create new fanboys, there won't be any more aging fanboys to service in the future. perhaps that's an issue hibbs will address in a future column. i'll try to egg him on the next time i'm in his store.
posted by peter! 2:15 AM EST permalink
smootch: warren ellis has confirmed in his mailing list that colleen doran will be illustrating "stealth tribes", a 96-page original graphic novel coming out from dc comics towards the end of the year. the two have previously collaborated on last year's graphic novel orbiter, as well as superidol, a fully-painted webcomic featured on some little website somewhere.
posted by peter! 1:38 AM EST permalink
whatcha looking at, tiger? while adi was surfing for porn (oh, wait, that was me), he came across this website that has created an archive of all the brilliant fully-painted ron embleton strips that ran in penthouse during the '70's. sure way to kill a couple of hours.
posted by peter! 1:16 AM EST permalink
top shelf june 04: top shelf has a pair of books coming out this june that look mighty interesting including a time-spanning spy thriller called "2 sisters" by pistolwhip artist matt kindt; and "less than heroes" the latest superhero deconstruction by david yurkovich. they're also distributing the 35th issue of "world war 3 illustrated", edited by seth tobocman and peter kuper; as well as the 10th anniversary issue of "boy trouble", edited by robert kirby and david kelly. hyperlinked covers of the two graphic novels:
 
posted by peter! 1:10 AM EST permalink
nbm june 04: nbm has two major releases coming out this june including the third and final volume of p. craig russell's "opera adaptations" that contains interpretations of pelleas & melisande by maeterlinck and debussy, salome by richard strauss, and the godfather's code from cavalleria rusticana by mascagni. the second major release is "generalissimo el busho", a new collection of political cartoons from ted rall. they've also got two new erotica entries including the first volume of patrick conlon's "swarm" and the 13th issue of "grin & bare it". sorry, no cover pics for you. tune in to nbmpub.com for further updates.
posted by peter! 1:00 AM 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
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