 |
Saturday, April 24, 2004
playing with numbers: it's been awhile since i looked at the direct market sales numbers, so let's take a peek at the month of march, courtesy of icv2.com.
here's what people (mostly male adults) are buying in the direct market:
#1 SUPERMAN/BATMAN #8 (DC, 146,908)
#2 AVENGERS/JLA #4 (DC, 143,565)
#3 NEW X-MEN #154 (Marvel, 117,253)
#4 SUPERMAN/BATMAN #7 (DC, 108,791)
#5 ULTIMATE FANTASTIC FOUR #4 (Marvel, 106,873)
#6 ULTIMATES #13 (Marvel, 101,329)
#7 ULTIMATE X-MEN #43 (Marvel, 97,002)
#8 ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN #54 (Marvel, 93,025)
#9 ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN #55 (Marvel, 91,525)
#10 UNCANNY X-MEN #441 (Marvel, 86,432)
it's pretty much the same properties as it was 40 years ago.
here's the top graphic novels, which have a little bit more diversity:
#1 Y THE LAST MAN VOL 3 (DC Vertigo, 7,303)
#2 TEEN TITANS: KIDS GAME TP (DC, 6,886)
#3 SUPREME POWER VOL 1 (Marvel, 6,828)
#4 FORMERLY KNOWN AS JUSTICE LEAGUE TP (DC, 5,427)
#5 HELLBOY VOL 1 (Dark Horse, 5,361)
#6 PLANETARY: CROSSING WORLDS TP (DC Wildstorm, 4,519)
#7 BATMAN IN THE FORTIES TP (DC, 3,927)
#8 AMAZING SPIDER-MAN VOL 6 (Marvel, 3,885)
#9 DONALD DUCK ADVS VOL 5 TP (Gemstone, 3,835)
#10 MIGHTY LOVE HC (DC, 3,693)
the four diamond premiere publishers (marvel, dc, dark horse, image) have a combined 72.79% dollar market share. ironically, the two recent image spinoffs (dreamwave and devil's due) have a combined 4.97% share, beating image's own 4.27% share.
the top three manga publishers (tokyopop, viz, comicsone) who dominate the booktrade market, barely show here with a combined 5.31% dollar market share.
the top indy publishers don't fair as well:
IDW (0.95%)
Avatar (0.80%)
Fantagraphics (0.61%)
Gemstone (0.52%)
SLG (0.46%)
Archie (0.46%)
Antartic (0.42%)
Oni (0.35%)
here's the frightening numbers for some notable indy's:
#242 BEAR (SLG, 3,560)
#243 COURTNEY CRUMRIN #3 (Oni, 3,560)
#245 DEMO #5 (AiT, 3,301)
#260 ARTESIA AFIRE #6 (Archaia, 2,743)
#249 WYNONNA EARP #3 (IDW, 3,201)
#256 GLOOMCOOKIE #19 (SLG, 2,935)
#279 JOE LANSDALES DRIVE IN #4 (Avatar, 2,384)
#280 POPBOT #5 (IDW, 2,384)
#281 LOVE FIGHTS #8 (Oni, 2,376)
#298 OPTIC NERVE #9 (D&Q, 1,926)
to put it into perspective, this blog gets almost twice the unique visitors a week then the average indy book actually sells, a clear sign of a distribution problem if i've ever seen one.
posted by peter! 5:49 PM EST permalink
Friday, April 23, 2004
from russia with love: the moscow times has this profile on ComMission, a yearly comics festival in russia: "While children wolf down comic books, the graphic genre gets a serious reception from art lovers too, not least in Russia, where an annual festival called ComMission gathers drawing talents from around the world. This year's festival, which opens on Friday, covers Japanese manga, comic strips and graphic novels, and will include master classes with cult artists and an exhibit at the M'ARS Gallery. The 150 participants come from more than a dozen countries, including Japan, France, Belgium and Switzerland. While comic books raise few eyebrows in Russia these days, many remember a time when this was not the case. 'Comics were completely forbidden during Soviet times,' said Pavel Khikhus, one of the three-year-old festival's organizers and himself a comic book artist. 'The government told us that they were an American propaganda tool designed to make Soviet youth stupid.'"
posted by peter! 11:52 AM EST permalink
lock your windows and bolt your doors: only in england: "THEY used to clean up the mean streets of Gotham City – but now the Caped Crusader and his loyal sidekick are taking on a new challenge. That’s right folks! Batman and Robin have been on the streets of Whitley, saving damsels in distress, scaring wrongdoers and even chasing naked men from football pitches. Like a re-run of Del Boy and Rodney’s dash through Peckham, the crime-busting pair have been spied sprinting along Northumberland Avenue, but unlike the Only Fools and Horses television pair, these two have been real-life heroes..."
(thanks, kel)
posted by peter! 11:49 AM EST permalink
neufeld awarded xeric: congrats to josh neufeld on being awarded a xeric grant to publish his latest graphic novel: "New York cartoonist Josh Neufeld has been awarded a prestigious Xeric Foundation Grant to self-publish his A Few Perfect Hours (and Other Stories From Southeast Asia and Central Europe) graphic novel. Neufeld's 120-page book will debut this fall at SPX, the weekend of October 1-3, 2004, in Bethesda, MD, just one mile outside Washington DC. Now in its tenth year, SPX serves as the preeminent showcase for the exhibition of independent comic books and the discovery of new creative talent. 'I'm incredibly gratified that the Xeric Foundation Distribution Committee believes in me and my project enough to give me this generous award,' says Neufeld. 'I'm excited to have this opportunity to share my work with a wider audience, and I look forward to the process of self-publishing and giving my book the best possible presentation.'" more at joshcomix.com.
posted by peter! 11:44 AM EST permalink
pink: adhouse books announced yesterday a new series of sketchbooks, beginning with a volume by scott morse: "AdHouse Books is proud to introduce its new limited mini-sketchbook series PINK. PINK will strive to straddle the border of 'Low' and 'High' art with each artist featured. PINK's limited nature will have the print run set to the number of orders received (plus copies for the creator and publisher) and will not go back to press. Each issue of PINK will come encased within a pink plastic envelope and contain an added bonus, such as a sticker, coaster, and maybe (gasp) a piece of gum. The first issue debuts with the prolific Scott Morse, who has decided to share his love of monsters. From Bigfoot to evil scientists, you will find all types of creatures within these pages and some in color! Also includes a sticker!"
posted by peter! 11:20 AM EST permalink
brainpowered 35: a foul collection
"Work crush puny human. Not been keeping up with column. Very bad. Am trying to plan out sequence of 48-page graphic novellas for next year. Very few coherent thoughts. Unedited cortex bukkake follows.
"Heard half of an off-the-board recording of one of the Pixies comeback gigs. Am mildly surprised to report that the old gits still have it. It's raw and beautiful, like the Come On Pilgrim EP. Even if they do "U-Mass," which I still think is a bit crap. But hearing "Wave Of Mutilation" and "Levitate Me" again is wondrous. "Levitate Me" will be the music for my funeral. This may mean I am officially the VH-1 demographic. My funeral may be sooner than you think..."
(more from warren ellis)
posted by peter! 10:40 AM EST permalink
Thursday, April 22, 2004
the hero defined: on thursday, the oregonian profiled local creator matt wagner in advance of a lecture he's giving this weekend: "Wagner will speak about comic book illustrating and writing Saturday in the Beaverton City Library. Joining him will be Jacob Pander and Greg Rucka, both involved in the many facets of comic books. The Beaverton Arts Commission will host the lecture. Twenty-two years ago, Wagner created a comic called Grendel, which is published by Milwaukie-based Dark Horse Comics. His other well-known comic is Mage, published by Image Comics in California... Grendel shares the name of the evil creature in the epic Beowulf, but the story doesn't follow the old tale. Instead, the series is an 'anti-hero tale,' meaning the focus is on the bad guy instead of the good guy. Wagner describes Mage as a 'modern urban fantasy, kind of an autobiographical allegory...'"
posted by peter! 1:51 AM EST permalink
addicted to war: the radical left website left hook interviews creator joel andreas about his recent political graphic novel addicted to war: why the u.s. can't kick militarism: "The direct inspiration was a Mexican cartoonist, Rius. He wrote some well known comic books including 'Marx for Beginners' and 'Cuba for Beginners,' that were translated into English. He actually put out a weekly comics magazine that was quite successful. I realized that the comic book form was an effective medium to reach people. When I wanted to create an educational tool about the Gulf War, I turned again to this form. It is easy to pick up and read. People don't have to be into reading thick tomes to learn. By doing it as a comic book, it's more available and accessible."
posted by peter! 1:42 AM EST permalink
surrender your children to me: i give you jay maynard's tron costume, courtesy of rick remender and slashdot: "I saw lots of TRON costumes on the net, and wasn't satisfied with any of them. The biggest deficiency was that none of them attempted to capture the green tint of the characters' outfits in the computer world. Yes, I know that was added in the digital animation process, but, still, a white costume just doesn't look right. Many of them also used black for the circuit patterns, one more step away from the costumes the viewer saw in the movie. I decided I could do better, at least to my own way of thinking. This is not a slam on those who have gone before by any means, just an observation that I could resolve what I saw as deficiencies."
posted by peter! 1:35 AM EST permalink
manga-ka: announcement from the museum of comic and cartoon art: "Guest speakers from TOKYOPOP's editorial department will be at the new Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art on Saturday afternoon, April 24th, to talk about what it takes to become a Manga Star and to REVIEW PORTFOLIOS! If you think you've got work that combines creative storytelling, compelling characters, innovative graphic design and an understanding of manga, then... THEY WANT TO SEE IT! If they agree you've got what it takes, you may get the chance to publish a series of graphic novels, so get your best manga together and get over to MoCCA!" more info and events at moccany.org.
posted by peter! 1:32 AM EST permalink
i really don't give a shit: just so people stop emailing me, here's this year's eisner and harvey award nominations. congrats to artbombers warren ellis, brian wood, and tom spurgeon. bleh.
posted by peter! 1:18 AM EST permalink
parker's got a new bag: jeff parker, author of the the interman and distant cousin of russell crowe, has launched a fancy new website at parkerspace.com, where he's continuing his amusing comic convention reports including this recent piece from wizard world los angeles: "Hoo-Hah, lookadat line! The Long Beach convention center looks like a mini version of the San Diego convention center, but it's still pretty big, and a nice fat queue stretched the length of it. Later I would find out that this wasn't for love of the comics medium, but rather due to those irrepressible WizKids giving out HeroClix Galactus (with Silver Surfer in hand!) to fans (re: grown men in short pants) who would line up first..."
posted by peter! 1:05 AM EST permalink
Wednesday, April 21, 2004
grudge match: yesterday, mile high comics -- the largest direct market retail in the country -- took a swipe at DC over their refusal to allow them to post entire full-length "previews" of some of their upcoming comics on the internet, a request Marvel recently entertained with a new issue of daredevil. here's some choice bits from owner chuck rozanski's email announcement:
"For those of you who have been with us for a while, you might remember that about three years ago we posted on our website the entire contents of several black and white DC comics that had yet to be published. We were given these advances at a DC retailers meeting, with the proviso that we couldn't show them to our customers until the following week. Once we posted the books to our website, and I simultaneously mentioned them in this newsletter, advance sales on all of those books surged upwards by 20%.
"You would have to think that DC would be delighted by a 20% increase in sales, but when DC President Paul Levitz discovered that we had posted these sneak peek books online, however, he threw a fit. It seems that while DC intended the 40 retailers in attendance to physically show these advances to their customers in their stores, they had no intention of letting anyone see them on the Internet. The logic entailed in this distinction escapes me. How is an online customer different from a retail store customer? Both get to read the entire comic, and both then decide for themselves if they want to buy a copy for their collections. DC, however, in their infinite wisdom, made it a policy from our 'transgression' forward to no longer allow retailers advance copies of their comics.
"Now, in a clear manifestation of why Marvel will always be able to outperform DC in the comics marketplace, Marvel Comics has set up a program with us under which they will be sending us all of the pages of entire comics to post for your reading pleasure. In this first instance, we are thrilled to be able to let you read DAREDEVIL: FATHER #1..."
the irony here, of course, is that Marvel and DC are running neck-and-neck in marketshare, according to diamond comics, their exclusive distributor to the direct market:
Publisher (Dollar Share, Unit Share)
MARVEL COMICS (31.05%, 37.68%)
DC COMICS (30.35%, 32.20%)
while this statement is probably just rozanski's classless way to try to strongarm dc into complying with his "preview" request, it clearly shows where his loyalties lie, and -- if we wanted to read too much into it -- could be another sign of marvel bolstering internet retailers to the chagrin of traditional brick-and-mortar stores. dc will of course take the high road on this issue and most likely reply with silence.
posted by peter! 12:39 PM EST permalink
Tuesday, April 20, 2004
those wacky berkeley grads: visual language theorist neil cohn argues that comics really aren't an artform at all in a new column over at comixpedia: "Designating 'comics as art' most likely arises from the perception of the medium as a synthesis of two 'traditional' art forms – literature (textual writing) and picture making (painting, drawing, etc). However, in my book and last article, I discussed how the term 'comics' refers to a cultural and social category that is separate from the structural 'comics medium' of sequential pictures. I continued this split by stating that the 'comics medium' is actually a visual language (a point that I will return to), doing away with any terminological remnants of cultural association to 'comics'. In splitting apart the social from structural concepts, we no longer need to treat one as an essential part of the other. This same sort of dissection of terminology can help us to understand 'art', as well."
posted by peter! 11:38 AM EST permalink
where have all the real women gone? this poor sod from the baltimore sun takes a look at the characterization of women in western comics: "Most in the industry agree that the 'fantasy' can get pretty twisted, as it did in the 1990s, with the rise of 'bad girl' comics like Lady Death and Vampirella. Most publishers have backed away from such semi-nude ultra-violence. Still thriving, though, is the cheesecake style that Frederick Wertham denounced in his 1954 book Seduction of the Innocent. As a result, independent comics and Japanese 'manga' books have become a refuge for many female characters, and readers... 'It seems like all female characters are drawn as adolescent porn. Most have had their clothes ripped off at one time or another, especially spinoff characters,' said John Koerner of Pensacola, Fla."
posted by peter! 11:33 AM EST permalink
coming (horror) attractions: this july, avatar has a bunch of new horror releases that look promising including a new three issue series written by antony johnston called yuggoth creatures that promises to continue where last year's yuggoth cultures series by alan moore left off. they've also got the latest strange killings collection from warren ellis and mike wolfer called strong medicine, and the third issue of joe r. lansdale's six-part series by bizarre hands. here's the covers for the first two:
 
posted by peter! 11:24 AM EST permalink
Monday, April 19, 2004
killed by bill: mixed weekend at the box office for comic book films as quentin tarantino's kill bill volume 2 took the top spot with a strong 25M opening. as expected, the punisher opened in second with a small but respectable 14M despite some really god awful reviews. meanwhile, hellboy dropped another 47% to 4th with 5.7M, not quite catching box office fire despite relatively good reviews.
posted by peter! 2:11 AM EST permalink
urban living: the calcutta telegraph has this scoop on what purports to be india's first graphic novel: "He's not the guy-next-door who's just come out with this new book (India’s 'first graphic novel' no less). Sarnath Banerjee, author of Corridor, is a lot leaner, meaner and deeper, if you please, with long hair, moustache-less pointy beard and dollops of in-your-face attitude... In Corridor, a 112-page paperback comic book from Penguin, Banerjee tells 'stories emerging from living in an urban space'. There are characters as varied as Jehangir Rangoonwalla, a know-all bookseller in the heart of Delhi’s Connaught Place, Digital Dutta, a software expert who lives in his head 'exploding the midfield alongside Garincha' or 'climbing Mount Everest several times”, and newly-married Shintu looking for aphrodisiac drugs in the bylanes of old Delhi.'"
posted by peter! 2:08 AM EST permalink
remember the alamo: who knew that comics were to blame for distorting the history of texas? i guess the houston chronicle: "Much of Texas history is based on the public memory rather than on documented facts. For many years, it was taught officially in public schools through comic books that depicted the Mexican as a cartoon character, and the Texan as the paragon of virtue. It served the exclusive purpose of Anglo-American gratification at the expense of other Texans. It silenced a credible history of our state. For too long it has alienated many loyal Texans from the public discourse, museums, parks and monuments supported by their own taxes. Much of Texas history is accurately proud. Much is vindictive." fucking comics...
posted by peter! 2:01 AM EST permalink
serious graphic novels: the malaysian star recently ran this short, but excellent piece on mature graphic novels featuring raymond briggs: "It's such a cliche but a (good) picture really does say a thousand words. Picture books are designed to say it all, without words, and graphic novels can be seen as picture books for an older audience. Raymond Briggs, best known for The Snowman and Fungus The Bogeyman, is a writer and illustrator whose books straddle the line between picture book and graphic novel. His style is pictures laid out in comic-strip-like panels, with or without text. I find Briggs’s books work effortlessly on several levels. His characters are adorable and the basic storyline is easily understood even by under-sevens, but there is usually a more adult sub-text." (note to self: we really need to add ethel and ernest to the site.)
posted by peter! 1:56 AM EST permalink
coming attractions: looks like august will be a good month for fantagraphics as well. they've got two new graphic novel collections, including locas by jaime hernandez, which is a comprehensive love and rockets hardcover companion to last year's palomar by brother gilbert that includes all of the maggie stories from the first love & rockets series; and a softcover fred the clown collection from new zealand artist roger langridge. plus, two coffee table books, including a new volume of monte beauchamp's blab! and a lavish hardcover collection of japanese ukiyo-e poster art entitled decadence: 300 years of japanese fetish art. here's the working covers:
 
 
on the magazine front, they've also got love and rockets #11 by los bros hernandez, the first issue of worn tuff elbow that features the comics of marc "shrimpy and paul" bell, and issue #262 of the comics journal. on the smut front, there's teens at play #2 by rebecca, morbid tales by raulo, menage a trois #6 by roger wormburper (!), erika telekinetica #1 by ishmael ferrer, sex warrior isane #8 by okawari, and issue #6 of dildo (whew!). there's also two new mega-manga collections including best of super taboo by wolf ogami and the voice of submission by mashumaro juubaori.
posted by peter! 1:50 AM EST permalink
pretty pictures: missed this announcement last week among my buried email, but this august, nbm is releasing a lush hardcover collection of francois schuiten art entitled appropriately enough the book of schuiten: "Besides the gorgeous work he does on the Cities of the Fantastic series, Schuiten also has amassed a body of work in theater and Opera set design, posters and full scale recreations which is impressive. This handsome art book presents an awesome array of these never-before-seen pieces in large size along with an interview of the artist conducted by [Benoit] Peeters."
posted by peter! 1:22 AM EST permalink
those wacky dutch: my inbox has been filling up lately with dutch cartoons from our friends overseas. here's a couple that i recently enjoyed:
patient: "To keep my sperm moving and alert, I scare the hell out of it once a day."
nienke: "at our first lesson in sculpting, we had to make the model of our ideal husband."
fatima: "and what did yours look like?"
nienke: "someone i can mold as i please."
(thanks ingrid and kolk & wit)
posted by peter! 1:10 AM EST permalink
Sunday, April 18, 2004
new review: gyo vol 2 by junji ito
"It's been a month since the fish grew legs and lifted themselves out of the sea and descended on the Japanese mainland. The death stench plague that they've brought has spread to humans, converting them into monstrous gastro-organic machines; dead husks being propelled by an unknown science. Tadashi, a young man seemingly immune to the plague, walks adrift among the chaos, trying to avoid the cold reality of his situation: his girlfriend has been infected by the plague. She's one of them now. A death stench zombie spewing disease into a decaying world."
(more)
posted by peter! 11:38 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
|
|
