Random Comics News Story Round-Up
* Portland Mayor Tom Potter declared April "Comics Month," after which he was pummeled by bullies that took the city's school lunch program appropriation.
* here's a report on Zapiro's address to the Rhodes College crowd upon being granted an honorary degree.
* Johanna Draper Carlson asks if Marvel producing a Free Comic Book Day-type comic but not adhering to the Free Comic Book Day release for its debut may indicate some sort of plan by Marvel vis-a-vis the promotional event. I think I'm just pleased to see a company like Marvel do an appropriate-sounding FCBD offering no matter how much extra use they want to get out of it.
* the writer David P. Welsh has unearthed a story about the precarious state of credit-strapped Borders and also points to one of those stories about a book publisher not exactly living the high life right now.
* John Jakala talks about that strange complaint when people feel they have no comics to read. It's weird on a lot of levels but perhaps primarily that it presents a point of view where there's supposed to be enough comics to suit people.
* the sort-of-a-comics-company Platinum lost almost a third as much money last year as Tundra did in their entire Hindenburg-like existence, which I wouldn't think is possible save for maybe a company printing on actual dollar bills, let alone possible with people still seeing such a company as a success. Also, they claimed to have published a lot more comics last year than I would have guessed -- by a multiple of eight.
* the phrase "possessing obscene comic book and annoying a woman at the airport" describes a lot of us at one time or another.
* it would have been cool if every newspaper that's switching Doonesbury out during its hiatus would have given a try-out to a strip by an African-American or Hispanic cartoonist.
* Eddie Campbell 
