March 11, 2010
Your Danish Cartoons Hangover Update
* Tahawwur Rana
has once again been denied bail according to the charges brought against him regarding scouting sites for the Mumbai Massacre and planning harm from the
Jyllands-Posten news building, editor Flemming Rose and cartoonist Kurt Westergaard. I guess he's been asking for bail a bunch of times.
* NPR
unpacks the Jihad Jane mini-news phenomenon.
* if you want to chop your way into Lars Vilks' home,
he's prepared to chop back. That article also provides a fine summary of how that drawing was originally published and a rundown of who republished it this week and why.
Here's an entire article focused on the re-publishing of that drawing.
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Go, Look: Hanneriina Moisseinen
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Family Of Missing Cartoonist/Journalist Prageeth Eknaligoda Fear He's Dead
The saga of the missing Sri Lankan cartoonist/journalist Prageeth Eknaligoda is stretching to the six-week mark. There's little ground left to cover on his pre-election disappearance except to include more family members in public expressions of fear for his fate and to publish more international organization supporting the family and regional groups in their condemnation of his abduction.
This article gives us both. Also included is the fact that Eknaligoda had planned an exhibition of his cartoons this year, which one hopes can still happen if not for the best reason than as something of a response to the worst.
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Go, Look: New David Hahn Site
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Your 2010 BSJA Cartoonist Winners
I made a solemn vow back in 2004 that this site would report each and every scrap of sports cartoon-related news that came its way, out of deference to a once towering and vital but definitely still out there expression of the art form. That is why we were so glad to see
the results of the cartoonist category at the British Sports Journalism Awards. The winner was Paul Wood of
The Premiersh*ts, which runs in
Private Eye; while the runner-up was
Nick Newman of the Sunday Times. The awards are voted upon by a short list of five to six peers, made public on the awards program's ballot. I believe without knowing 100 percent of sure that Newman is more explicitly that paper's "pocket cartoonist" -- the best job designation in cartooning -- and it's just that a number of his smaller illustrations and cartoons are either by design or accident sports-related.
that Wood cartoon is from recently, and probably wasn't one of the cartoons for which he won; it just occurred to me that with the John Terry story front and center Wood's cartoon must be a joy to do right now.
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Go, Look: Town Tamer
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Analysts: February 2010 DM Estimates
The comics business news and analysis site
ICv2.com offers their usual array of lists, estimates and analysis regarding the performance of comic books and graphic novels in the Direct Market of comic and hobby shops, this time for February 2010.
*
Overview
*
Analysis
*
Top 300 Comic Books
*
Top 300 Graphic Novels
John Jackson Miller at
The Comics Chronicles has begun his analysis of the month
right here.
I picked the cover image above because that was the last comic book on the chart to sell over 50,000 copies: 26 copies pushed past that mark on these initial sales. I'm sort of interested in the 50,000 and 25,000 thresholds. My interest in that particular market isn't solely tied into the aggregate or into the fate individual comics. I'm also interest in how many comics, for instance, have traction with readers. Because the market can be manipulated to churn out high-end sellers and flooded to churn out a greater interest in low-end sellers. So it's my own personal measure of how many books make a middle-class living or above (50K) and how many books operate well above every cynical model of profitability I've ever heard expressed (25K). So here are the number of old-fashioned comic books exceeding 50K and 25K over the last five years.
2010 -- 26, 72
2009 -- 22, 72
2008 -- 34, 81
2007 -- 37, 80
2006 -- 31, 83
2005 -- 27, 79
2004 -- 30, 78
2003 -- 19, 68
2002 -- 16, 64
Now, it's not like such made-up numbers
mean anything. They're just for my own personal musing. There are all sorts of problems asserting specific numbers mean specifically what anyone says they mean on charts like these, because the number of qualifying factors is almost always immense, starting with the re-order For instance, you could look at the numbers now and suggest "Those event tie-ins probably make up more of the comics middle class than in the past." But the distinctions between something related to the mini-series with a colon-ed title and the ongoing titles linked to the current event are difficult to parse, and so on. It does look like there's a bit of a bow in that chart, though.
I don't have anything else --
Fables sure has become a solid performer in trade form for that market. ICV2.com led its analysis with the top of the chart stuff:
Blackest Night still bringing in the orders late in its run,
Siege not dropping off no matter what you may think of its original performance. I think the
Siege numbers are interesting and no one should be mocked for noting that they're not as high as some people think -- some of the same people doing the mocking were quick to point out when DC's
Final Crisis had a similar case of perceived under-performance back in 2008. I'll agree that some of the analysis of why seems weird to me. I know I've read some stuff that suggests the concept isn't very solid, and while few such series will match
Civil War in terms of an easy-to-digest, little-kid-awesome concept, "super-villains invade Asgard" -- at least I think that's what
Siege is about --- seems fine to me with 11-year-old me. (I just checked; he's eating a bowl of chicken nuggets and playing on the Atari 2600, but he's giving me a thumbs up.) There are some secondary analyses of content out that that seem to me a bit more convincing, for sure, about how fans may have perceived this series as a mega-cycle ending, and the structural issues raised also seem worth raising.
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Go, Look: Dennis The Menace #62
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Turhan Selçuk, 1922-2010
According to wire reports, Turkish cartoonist
Turhan Selçuk passed away early today in Istanbul. He died during surgery at Acidbadem Maslak Hospital, where he was a patient in intensive care.
Selçuk began his long and distinguished career as a magazine cartoonist, founding a caricature association and finding clients in a number of late 1940s magazine including
Tasvir and
Aydede. In 1949 he began working with his first newspaper, drawing for them as well as penning articles on the history of caricature. By 1951 he enjoyed his first exhibition and by 1954 he had founded two comics magazines (
41Buçuk,
Karikatur) and had released his first book,
The Turhan Sel&@231;uk Caricature Album. These were considered generational moments in terms of cartoon art in the region, as opposed to solely singular achievements.
In 1955, he joined the daily newspaper
Milliyet as its main cartoonist, beginning a series of employment runs at such publications that included
Yeni Istanbul (1969),
Aksam (1969) and Cumhuriyet (1972). Selçuk was recognized with honorary degrees, showed his work international via museum collection and tour and won several international awards.
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Go, Look: Noel Sickles Original
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Philadelphia: All (The Indigant Reactions To A) News (Cartoon) Is Local
If you ever wondered why even the medium-sized paper editorial cartoon contributors might sometimes seem to prefer broader, national commentary,
check out the heat heaved Tony Auth's way for a pretty standard "sleeping on the job" cartoon aimed at South Philly High principal LaGreta Brown. The odd thing is that the responses from her defenders and political supporters feel the need to point out that Brown isn't actually physically sleeping on the job, which is one of those things where you go, "Nobody seeing Tony Auth's cartoon will think that" before you go, "Okay, maybe they will, but still!" and then you finally go, "Point to the critics." I guess it's a step up from Turkey, where the Prime Minister seems to believe he's actually being described as a half-animal.
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If I Were In Chicago, I'd Go To This
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Happy 46th Birthday, Lea Hernandez!
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Go, Look: Rocky Rhodes
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Go, Look: John Rosenberger Comics
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Go, Look: Dave Berg's Alice
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Go, Look: Tom & Jerry #69
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Random Comics News Story Round-Up
* Douglas Wolk has some cogent analysis
here of J. Michael Straczynski being named Superman and Wonder Woman writer. He notes that 1) JMS hasn't exactly set the sales charts on fire with his DC work, 2) he seems to like Superman a lot and Wonder Woman kind of, sort of, 3) he's had some issues getting work out on time. Should be interesting to see what happens. Poor Wonder Woman.
* I sure did not expect to open up
CBR and see
an interview with Darryl Cunningham.
* Frank Santoro
asks why more of the 1970s mainstream superstars don't do longform work. It's an interesting, but I honestly think it's probably just not a financial arrangement that works for most of those artists, writers and cartoonists. At any rate, BWS and Walt Simonson are working on longform works, and although he's of a previous generation Joe Kubert seems reasonably comfortable working in longer increments.
* not comics: yeah,
this is pretty much why I don't care for on-line communities. There's a sweet spot in there where people are being nice to each before they get all self-referential, but it never lasts for more than a few months.
*
this made me laugh.
* Mark Siegel
talks a bit -- just a bit -- about First Second's plans to publish some of their works as webcomics in advance of graphic novels.
* not comics: the artist and industry advocate Lea Hernandez
is essentially rebooting her life. She talks about it here and provides links and suggestions if you're inclined to lend her a hand in some way.
* finally, it's all over except the complaining. Johanna Draper Carlson
looks at the Amazon.com pricing glitch story one more time. Apparently, because Amazon.com isn't run by lunatics, they have retained the right to not send people books when a glitch lists their prices at a ridiculous level. This won't fly in nerd court, however.
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Quick hits
Exhibits/Events
Go See Mark Evanier At WonderCon
History
Catman Is Sexy
PAD On Comics Code '92
He Dreams Of His TCJ Interview
When Is Superman Not Exactly Superman?
Interviews/Profiles
Newsarama: Jason Aaron
CBR: Jim McCann, David Lopez
CBR: James Robinson, Sterling Gates
Not Comics
The Film Industry Is Gross
Howard Cruse Got A Haircut
Publishing
Savage Critics Back Up
Wondermark Vol. 3 Previewed
Wondermark Vol. 3 Previewed
Good News And Bad News For Psychiatric Tales
Reviews
Brian Heater: Newave
Matt Springer: Marvel Boy
Grant Goggans: The Best Of Battle
Tim O'Neil: Punisher MAX: Butterfly
Greg McElhatton: One Piece: East Blue 1-2-3
March 10, 2010
CR Review: Death-Day Prologue
Creator: Sam Hiti
Publishing Information: La Luz Comics, mini-comic, 40 pages, 2009, $5
Ordering Numbers: Should Be Orderable Here
It looks like this print mini accompaniment to Sam Hiti's ongoing webcomic may be sold out soon. If the art appeals to you on any level I'd suggest picking one up. Like most good prologues,
Death-Day's gives the reader an idea of the main work's tone and approach without providing too much in the way of plot. Hiti, whose work frequently suggests he was once Paul Pope's lab partner in some sort of Kirby master class taught by Visiting Professor Moebius, whispers at conflict through shape and texture while also underlining the interconnectedness between man, machine and nature. It's like watching forms scrambling across the surface of the same super-organism, readying themselves for a turf battle to be fought with the same material as constitutes the turf. You can read the whole thing
here, but I like it on paper, the way the panel progression pushes you back from and shoves you towards the single images like some sort of staccato commentary on the importance of what we're seeing. Pay attention! Wait! Pay Attention! There! There! There!
Sam Hiti's been busier than usual lately, in a way that I think may still slip under the radar of a natural audience for his powerful and frequently pulchritudinous approach to slapping ink down on the page.
Death-Day Prologue was one of a number of modestly-assembled publications from various sources the artist dropped in my lap this summer; his site has been active since. I got to peruse the comics he sent once, maybe two times and they were then lost to the tidal-strength push and pull of pulp and that is the curse of a lived-in office's clutter. I knew I'd see at least one of them again. That kind of work always turns up. And now holding
Deaty-Day Prologue, I have returned to Hiti. I have little idea where this project has gone since I first laid eyes on it and no idea where it might go in the future. But this little book with the hand-drawn cover, I like looking at it. I like thinking about what it shows me. Hiti, I'm confident, remains a cartoonist to watch no matter where in the tidal wave that is modern comics one is able to find his work.
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Bundled, Tossed, Untied And Stacked
By Tom Spurgeon
*
there's a two-page Dan Clowes Wilson story in this week's New Yorker that isn't in the forthcoming D&Q collection of the same name.
* the big publishing news story of the week is Fantagraphics working with longtime scholar/translator/writer/editor Matt Thorn on a line of comics featuring translated manga. Highlights of the announcements, which were spread out among official PR and a number of posts from those involved, were as far as I can figure it as follows:
+ the first two books will be Drunken Dream a collection of short stories from Moto Hagio in multiple genres from the years 1971-2007. (PR)
+ the first book will be the first in a multi-volume series called Wandering Son from Shimura Takako. (PR)
+ both of these initial hardcovers will be released right-to-left style. (PR)
+ the legendary Hagio will be attending CCI 2010 as a special guest in support of that first book. Usually that means multiple signings, a spotlight panel and perhaps participation on a secondary, group, themed panel. (PR plus my own supposition regarding standard opportunities for international guests at CCI)
+ the line has its origin event the Comics Journal issue on Shojo manga (#269, that featured an interview with Hagio. Then-managing editor Dirk Deppey worked with Thorn on that interview and that issue, which was a precursor to this more involved publishing commitment. (Deppey's Second Statement, details confirmed by Cohen via e-mail).
+ it didn't make the PR, but Deppey describe the deal as an agreement signed with the publisher Shogakukan in addition to it being a line edited and curated by Thorn, so I guess that would be the source of most of the comics they'll be doing. (Deppey Initial Announcement)
+ Deppey will be a consulting editor on the line (Deppey's Second Statement)
+ Matt Thorn has in mind the line-up for the Hagio book, part of which he put together with the help of other knowledgeable manga readers by suggesting an imaginary anthology of its kind. (Thorn)
+ I remain genuinely interested in the length of time -- four years -- the line took in development, just as a process story if nothing else. Although I'm not sure Fantagraphics' Jacq Cohen's answer to my query on the matter really explains much of anything, it is highly amusing. "Good things take time. Fantagraphics likes to marinate on the books we publish. We want to make sure we hold up to to our slogan/mission/tagline/barometer, 'Publisher of the world's greatest cartoonists.' So, starting a line of manga (and I specify 'line' not an 'imprint') there was a lot of careful planning that went into what books, creators, content, etc. Also, everyone is really fucking busy around here." I'm also not sure exactly why the line/imprint distinction is important, but hey, noted.
I join the chorus of voices that looks forward to what sounds like a great line of comics.
* the Steve Kelley/Jeff Parker recent launch
Dustin has pushed past the 100-client market, a sign whenever it happens of a likely hit strip that will be around for a while and a sign in distressed times such of these that the strip has been
extremely well-received.
* the writer Gail Simone
will be leaving a high-profile run on DC's Wonder Woman title at some unspecified near-future time. Simone has been on the prime superheroine's title since 2007. She will continue with the writing gig on the title by which she (mostly) made her name:
Birds Of Prey. J. Michael Straczynski
will take over the character, which along with his writing duties on the Superman character makes him a formidable force at the icon-interested new DC, an observation I'm sure has been made in countless blogs I barely scan.
Wonder Woman is a difficult character in that she's a licensing A-teamer and a Direct Market as its currently constituted in terms of a devoted readership C-teamer.
* since the publication of
Girl Comics put into play the opportunity that female creators get in the mainstream comic book part of the comics market, it's nice to see Marvel launch
a summer mini-series that give Kathryn Immonen a multiiple-character book to write for a very talented artist and features a bunch of Marvel's underrated roster of female characters (Valkyrie and the African-American Captain Marvel seem like pretty good characters to me, anyway). Marvel's done a pretty good job developing not exactly A-list characters in those space opera comics they've done, and I think efforts like that that also pay attention to just getting certain talented creators more work would be a fine, Marvelish way to rectify some diversity issues.
* finally, a friend of mine sent me an e-mail noting that Marvel isn't the only one trying to make an all-female creator anthology work in a constrictive market: Lombard's anthology
Kramix apparently launched with a first issue of only female creators, although it sounds like format has been a bigger issue in initial attempts to find a foothold for that title in an astonishingly crowded French-language market.
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Go, Bookmark: SM Vidaurri's Webcomic Iron, or The Propagandist
via
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Not Comics: British Artist Has Jail Time Commuted In Most Recent Application Of Crappy Turkish Law
The story itself is pretty straight-forward: Michael Dickinson, a British artist living in Turkey, was convicted of insulting the dignity and honor of Turkish Prime Minister Recip Tayyip Erdogan through a collage/cartoon that featured the PM's head on the body of a dog. The sentence came out to 425 days in prison, which was immediately commuted to a middle four-figure fine. When Dickinson declared he wouldn't pay, the judge told him as long as he didn't do it again, he wouldn't have to.
As the article explain, it's just another week of artists living with the country's criminal code, particularly article 125, through which powerful political figures like the Prime Minister use the court to try artists for insulting depictions. This has included a number of cartoonists. The combination of a political figure thinking they have the right to act without potential insult, the law itself, the willingness of a political figure to work in a court system that may favor them just because of who they are, and a wide array of application strategies by judges and prosecutors makes Turkey a routinely awful place for free expression. Moreover, it's a basic set-up you also see in other countries, which means it has a foothold in popular thinking.
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Go, Look: Al Hirschfeld Caricatures From The Covers Of American Mercury
some of these are really beautiful: 1, 2
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Your Danish Cartoons Hangover Update
* so with the unsealing of federal indictments, the world learned yesterday the arrest of multiple plotters conspiring to assassinate the Swedish Cartoon Lars Wilks for a cartoon he did in the wake of the Danish Cartoons Controversy of 2005 putting Muhammad's head on a dog's body
included 46-year-old Colleen LaRose of Pennsylvania. She's been held since last Fall. Her American citizenship has set off the expected ruckus in terms of "hidden" American terrorists and the like, and I'm not sure there's anything to do but to sit back, but on one's reading glasses, and see what rolls out of that particular event. The oddest thing to me initially is that an American citizen has any knowledge of or interest in events in another country.
* a new poll
finds that a slight majority (51 percent) of Danes do not support the apology issued by the newspaper
Politiken over their re-release of the Kurt Westergaard bomb-in-turban cartoon a couple of years back.
*
here's some context about the death threats faced by Lars Vilks. I can't imagine just folding something like that into your daily/weekly/monthly life, but I guess you wouldn't have a choice.
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