January 13, 2016
Random Comics News Story Round-Up
* Nick Wilcox on
Wandering Son Vols. 1-7. Chris Mautner on
DKIII. Thomas Powers on
White Boy.
* not comics:
this is what was on TV for the young geek-in-the-making when the
Batman TV show debuted. This is a pretty good line-up of shows of that kind, all things considered. I'd watch this line-up now some nights. LBJ is pretty much a
Batman 1966 villain, looking back.
* Brigid Alverson
walks us through the remaining, floating Angouleme Grand Prix material, including some intriguing thinking about how it unfolded. The history thing still kills me. This isn't listing 400 creators over 130 years and there being imbalances because of multiple factors including institutional sexism. This is going 0 for 30 on a list for right now. Put another way: This isn't picking a list of top 100 athletes 1900-2000 and not having as many Babe Didriksons as Babe Ruths, this is naming a list of great athletes
right this very moment and leaving off Serena Williams and then pointing towards 1958 and shrugging your shoulders with a smirk on your face. What a spiteful argument in terms of its misleading qualities.
*
CBR made charts out of all its 2015 reviews.
* not comics: I'm not sure there's an advantage of trying out versions of licensed properties as guest stars on a time-traveling TV show, but if there is,
it's about to accrue to DC.
* finally,
I did not know that Editor & Publisher had a cartoons section.
posted 1:05 am PST |
Permalink
Happy 83rd Birthday, Ron Goulart!
posted 1:00 am PST |
Permalink
January 12, 2016
Go, Look: The Side Effects Of The Cocaine
posted 10:00 am PST |
Permalink
A Few Comics Business Stories Worth Noting
* IDW
has refocused its international licensing work into its own division, and they'll be taking on the occasional property that needs that service but isn't part of the wide-ranging IDW family. Thus, this first announcements focuses on North American perennial Archie and its various sub-licenses. IDW is one company as active in trying different models and different approaches on the business end of the thing as they are in locking down their creative content, so pretty much anything and everything they do in this area becomes worth studying.
Jeff Webber is set to run that division. His ink-heavy "Vice President of Digital Publishing & Business Development" business card will now be the equally ink-soaked "Vice President of Licensing, Digital & Subsidiary Rights." Congrats to him on the new gig.
* dominant comics distributor Diamond
is expanding warehouse space and generally improving its technological capabilities at warehouses in New York and Mississippi. The one thing about this kind of news story is to note that the company in question is healthy enough to make these improvements, in this case likely due to cash flow engendered by an uptick in sales.
* D+Q has hired a new marketing assistant, Sruti Islam.
From reading old postings, she's been there a while, but an introductory e-mail only went out in the new year. I want to say that Fantagraphics has added a third person to their core (day to day) marketing team, but I'm not finding it this morning.
posted 9:55 am PST |
Permalink
Go, Look: Earl Norem Images Mini-Gallery
posted 9:30 am PST |
Permalink
Cartoonists Decry Censorship At After Hebdo Exhibition
I liked
Henri Neuendorf's article about censorship with the After Hebdo exhibit at the French embassy in Tel Aviv because of its thoroughness and light touch. Apparently one cartoon was removed and another was adorned with a sticker, and both cartoonists objected to how their work was treated. By focusing and its players -- the article absolves the French embassy of any interference -- it's largely left up to the reader how to process the altering acts themselves.
I'm against stunt work and provocation. It strikes me, however, that an exhibit about the Hebdo cartoons would logically have material that might be upsetting to someone and to scrub it of these things as opposed to just taking a pass on show it at all, that would seem to me counter what an exhibit like that might choose to do.
posted 9:25 am PST |
Permalink
Go, Look: Tyson Murphy
posted 9:00 am PST |
Permalink
Burmese Cartoonist Suspects Facebook Suspension Tied To Political Cartoon Of Recent Vintage
The Burmese cartoonist Maung Maung Fountain
is profiled in a regional news source about the potential that his Facebook account was suspended after the political nature of a recent cartoon was reported by other users. It's worth reading just for itself -- Fountain's a quarter century into his career, so any sort of crackdown on his work would be noticeable -- and for the idea that a lot of censorious control is signed over to corporations like Facebook and thus to the whims of a reporting policy country to country. It's like a scarier version of the occasional US twitter suspension.
If this is indeed spun from the cartoon in question, it's also worth noting how mild a cartoon that is to English-language audience to be the potential source of an action action like the one suggested here.
posted 8:55 am PST |
Permalink
Go, Look: Sampling Of Bundy Clan Political Cartoons
this kind of gallery is always interesting to me
posted 8:30 am PST |
Permalink
Continuing Pressure In Sri Lankan Cartoonist Case
It's amazing to me that we're seeing
actual updates in the quest to find out what happened to Sri Lankan cartoonist Prageeth Ekneligoda and exploring whatever justice might be done in the matter. That struck me as the kind of case that never gets solved. Ekneligoda went missing before a 2010 presidential election due, it was thought, to his non-cartoon journalistic exploits. It's the kind of brutal happenstance that frequently never gets looked into because of the delicate political back-and-forth involved. Family and advocates have kept the pressure on, and we're actually far into the other side of finding out who is directly responsible and figure out what might be done at this late date.
posted 8:25 am PST |
Permalink
Go, Look: A Second Friday Achewood
i live in hope
posted 8:00 am PST |
Permalink
Festivals Extra: CAKE Announces Second Year Of Inbound Residency
The up-and-coming if not already all the way here Chicago-based arts- and alt-comics show CAKE announced through PR yesterday that they'll be continuing their partnership with Transit Residency and the Chicago Public Resources Center (ChiPRC) for a second comics residency. They're looking for non-Chicago based comics and zine makers to spend two weeks in Chicago creating work at the ChiPRC studio space. There's a stipend of $1000 to help defray travel and lodging. A free table will be made available to them at the show, and they'll be a part of programming.
Roman Muradov was last year's recipient. The show will be June 11-12. As a former Chicago resident, I can tell you there's usually no better time to be in that city.
Everything you need should be here or findable through here.
posted 7:55 am PST |
Permalink
Go, Look: Wren McDonald Mini-Gallery
via
posted 1:30 am PST |
Permalink
Bundled, Tossed, Untied And Stacked: Publishing News
By Tom Spurgeon
* the
LA Times had Drew Weing's
Margo Maloo cover first;
you should read their article.
* Deb Aoki, Brigid Alverson and Katherine Dacey
talk amongst themselves about the forthcoming manga to which they're most looking forward. They note that not only are there quite a few series launching or relaunching this year, but that 2015 was a strong year for material with an early volume number on them. One of the book's discussed is April's
omnibus-edition release of Kengo Hanazawa's I Am A Hero.
* Johanna Draper Carlson
writes about the latest round of
Octopus Pie books as a publishing story. She also notes that
Comic Book Creator will be running some material initially intended for other magazines, as the world of writing-about-comics continues to shake itself out.
* Bruce Canwell
writes about the rest of the year 2016 for the Library Of American Comics (an earlier post was about of the super-commercial strips they're reprinting). This time around it's the Essentials series specifically and various strip series more generally. Good news for Alex Raymond fans in there.
*
there's a post over at The Beat about
Over The Garden Wall becoming an ongoing that also puts out the call for
Badger fans to support that comic in its newest print iteration or bad things might happen in terms of its viability. Both are worth noting. I wonder how much room there is for certain properties that are 25-30 years old now just in terms of building an audience and/or regaining the one they have. Not every property is Superman or something that will endure for decade after decade. At the same time, comics does have some success stories in terms of reviving old properties. I'd love for this to become a viable market overall, is what I'm saying, but I have some real doubts.
*
there will be a sequel to the Civil War mini-series this year and they promise someone will die and that the character that will die will be significant enough we won't be disappointed in our desire to see superhero characters die.
* finally, Tracy Brown
talks to Hope Larson and Brittney Williams about their new detective comic book series
Goldie Vance.
posted 1:25 am PST |
Permalink
Go, Look: Alfred
posted 1:20 am PST |
Permalink
Forthcoming Comics-Related Events, Through February 2016
*****
January 15
*
If I Were In Gainesville, I'd Go To This
January 16
*
If I Were In NYC, I'd Go To This (Black Comic Book Festival)
January 17
*
If I Were In San Francisco, I'd Go To This (Black Comix Arts Festival)
January 18
*
If I Were In San Francisco, I'd Go To This (Black Comix Arts Festival)
January 21
*
If I Were In Montreal, I'd Go To This
January 22
*
If I Were In Atlanta, I'd Go To This (Wizard World Atlanta)
January 23
*
If I Were In Atlanta, I'd Go To This (Wizard World Atlanta)
January 24
*
If I Were In Atlanta, I'd Go To This (Wizard World Atlanta)
January 27
*
If I Were In Boone, I'd Go To This
January 29
*
If I Were In Angouleme, I'd Go To This (Angouleme Festival)
January 30
*
If I Were In Angouleme, I'd Go To This (Angouleme Festival)
*
If I Were In Charlotte, I'd Go To This (Charlotte Mini-Con)
*
If I Were In Laredo, I'd Go To This (STCE)
*
If I Were In Chicago, I'd Go To This (Extends Into 1/31)
January 31
*
If I Were In Angouleme, I'd Go To This (Angouleme Festival)
*
If I Were In Laredo, I'd Go To This (STCE)
*
If I Were In Concord, I'd Go To This (East Bay Comic Con)
*
If I Were In Yorba Linda, I'd Go To This (California Comic Con)
*
If I Were In Orlando, I'd Go To This (Orlando Toy And Comic Con)
*****
February 3
*
If I Were In NYC, I'd Go To This
February 4
*
If I Were In Cambridge, I'd Go To This
February 5
*
If I Were In Montreal, I'd Go To This
February 6
*
If I Were In Cedar Rapids, I'd Go To This (Cedar Rapids Comic Con)
*
If I Were In Toronto, I'd Go To This
February 12
*
If I Were Near National Harbor, I'd Go To This (Katsucon)
*
If I Were In LA, I'd Go To This (LA Art Book Fair)
*
If I Were In San Diego, I'd Go To This (San Diego Comic Fest)
*
If I Were In Phoenix, I'd Go To This (Amazing Arizona Comic Con)
February 13
*
If I Were Near National Harbor, I'd Go To This (Katsucon)
*
If I Were In LA, I'd Go To This (LA Art Book Fair)
*
If I Were In San Diego, I'd Go To This (San Diego Comic Fest)
*
If I Were In Phoenix, I'd Go To This (Amazing Arizona Comic Con)
*
If I Were Near Dallas, I'd Go To This (Dallas Comic Con Fan Days)
February 14
*
If I Were Near National Harbor, I'd Go To This (Katsucon)
*
If I Were In LA, I'd Go To This (LA Art Book Fair)
*
If I Were In San Diego, I'd Go To This (San Diego Comic Fest)
*
If I Were In Phoenix, I'd Go To This (Amazing Arizona Comic Con)
*
If I Were Near Dallas, I'd Go To This (Dallas Comic Con Fan Days)
February 15
*
If I Were In San Diego, I'd Go To This (San Diego Comic Fest)
February 16
*
If I Were In NYC, I'd Go To This
February 17
*
If I Were In Portland, I'd Go To This
*
If I Were In Montreal, I'd Go To This
February 18
*
If I Were In Toronto, I'd Go To This
February 19
*
If I Were In Portland, I'd Go To This (Wizard World Portland)
*
If I Were In Brooklyn, I'd Go To This
February 20
*
If I Were In Portland, I'd Go To This (Wizard World Portland)
*
If I Were In Macon, I'd Go To This (Middle Georgia Comic Convention)
*
If I Were In Chicago, I'd Go To This
February 21
*
If I Were In Portland, I'd Go To This (Wizard World Portland)
*
If I Were In Macon, I'd Go To This (Middle Georgia Comic Convention)
February 25
*
If I Were In Providence, I'd Go To This
February 26
*
If I Were In Warren, I'd Go To This (GLCC)
*
If I Were In Cleveland, I'd Go To This (Wizard World Cleveland)
*
If I Were Near East Lansing, I'd Go To This (MSU Comics Forum)
February 27
*
If I Were In Warren, I'd Go To This (GLCC)
*
If I Were In Cleveland, I'd Go To This (Wizard World Cleveland)
*
If I Were Near East Lansing, I'd Go To This (MSU Comics Forum)
February 28
*
If I Were In Cleveland, I'd Go To This (Wizard World Cleveland)
*
If I Were In NYC, I'd Go To This (FZF)
February 29
*
If I Were In Toronto, I'd Go To This
*****
Events For March 2016 Onward Listed Here
*****
*****
*****
posted 1:15 am PST |
Permalink
Go, Look: Smash Comics #49
this one's stuffed with crude violence and demeaning stereotypes
posted 1:10 am PST |
Permalink
Random Comics News Story Round-Up
*
Heidi MacDonald announces her site's industry person of the year, the artist Noelle Stevenson. There are heartfelt testimonials about other people on the finalists lists and some people that received heavy write-in votes.
* Richard Bruton on
Wrinkles. Gene Ambaum on
Terror Assaulter.
* there was a ton of comics-maker reaction to the passing of musician and actor David Bowie.
Neil Gaiman re-ran a story based on the cultural icon. I was reminded
that Bowie's list of 100 favorite books included
Viz and
RAW. A bunch of comics people tweeted out art (you should check your favorites). I'm better nearly a full day of time was lost to many cartoonists and comics makers that dove back into their music collection. Bowie's story of an absolute outsider turned desired, beloved tastemaker is a powerful one for comics culture, with dozens of entry points based on who Bowie was. It should remain so.
Here's a Roger Langridge cartoon.
* more that's not comics: an original
The MAD Show performer and later George W. Geezil in the Altman/Feiffer
Popeye,
character actor supreme Richard LIbertini died on January 7.
*
Superman + Lois Lane = the best, no matter the era.
* I'm not sure everyone needs
to read recaps of 22-year-old Wizard, but I always find it intriguing to encounter the crassness of the values that were around back then, a moment in comics history where the initial build-slowly period for the wider market was punched in the kidneys enough times it crawled rather than strode thrugh the end of the decade and has only since started to be revived via a series of smart licensing deal, diversity in publishing and another generation willing to put their time into that segment of the market before hoping to make bigger money elsewhere.
*
Jewel Kats, RIP.
* Gary Tyrrell
makes the very interesting point that Iron Circus Comics, with its page-bonuses from the crowd-funding going so well project to project, likely has one of the best page rates in comic book history.
* finally,
Liza Donnelly live-drew the Golden Globes. I kid about old people slavishly watching any and all awards shows so they can tweet about them, but I honestly think there's some truth to it. Shared experiences are very uncommon now, and awards shows qualify, if only barely.
posted 1:05 am PST |
Permalink
Happy 51st Birthday, Andrew Wales!
posted 1:00 am PST |
Permalink
Happy 49th Birthday, Takehiko Inoue!
posted 1:00 am PST |
Permalink
Happy 54th Birthday, Joe Quesada!
posted 1:00 am PST |
Permalink
Happy 48th Birthday, John Jackson Miller!
posted 1:00 am PST |
Permalink
Happy 36th Birthday, Damian Duffy!
posted 1:00 am PST |
Permalink
January 11, 2016
Go, Look: Sean's David Bowie Sketchbook
posted 10:00 am PST |
Permalink
Checking In With Zunar: Obama's Responsibilities
The great Malaysian cartoonist Zunar has done guest editorials for near the entire half-decade plus period he's been harassed by his government for the content of his resolutely professional but certainly not alarming in any rational way cartoons.
This the latest. I don't recall the cartoonist ever taking the stance that the increased interest the US has with positive relations concerning his country shouldn't potentially sidestep human rights issues like his own. As always we call for immediate cessation of these hostile moves and, if possible, reparations to the artist.
posted 9:55 am PST |
Permalink
Daily Blog Archives
January 2016
December 2015
November 2015
October 2015
September 2015
Full Archives
