Bundled, Tossed, Untied & Stacked: Publishing News I was going to round up some forthcoming comics news but the first thing I saw when I jumped on-line was news of this amazingly depressing-sounding project, so I'm thinking I may quit while I'm ahead.
I spent two days staring at mainstream comics covers this weekend, both my regular trip to the comics shop and for a local comics-makers signing. One thing that surprised me is that Marvel is doing multiple titles featuring villains. In an era the storytelling seems so exhausted, and the other-media efforts have shown the effectiveness of these classic binaries, I'm not sure why you'd waste a villain in their own 32,800-selling comic when they could perhaps more significantly boost a title in partnership with one of the hero characters.
But maybe that's just me.
Hey, at least we're fewer than eight weeks until Now!
* not comics: Dave Cooper mentions that his film Eddy won a festival award and Mexico, and one of the commenters notes it's a qualifying award for Oscar consideration. That's a really good short, and Cooper is one of the most easy-going artist is a medium full of them.
Everybody’s Talking About This Emotional Facebook Explosion By Cartoonist Rich Tommaso
Everyone I know, anyway. Here. There's a lively debate in the comments, too.
I think we're at a rare double-low point for comics, not seen since 1996. We're at a low point for a high percentage of cartoonists selling poorly or not at all, and we're at a low point in terms of industry expectations for what might be the next thing that gives more cartoonists a chance to find a stable place from which to create. It has to be frustrating for a number of people.
I sure can't. .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Update: Anthony Stock was the first of a few suggesting it's J. Carver Pusey of the pantomime strip Benny perhaps from his feature Cat Tales. Thanks to everyone that helped.
Comics By Request: People, Places In Need Of Funding By Tom Spurgeon
* Karl Stevens is the latest talented artist to turn to Patreon for support. I'm going to try and find some space on the site to build a Patreon resource, so check out the right-hand column to see how you can help.
* I'm not seeing a bunch of stuff I love on Kickstarter, but there are a few names I know that have crowd-funders going: Hope Nicholson, Lucy Bellwood and Matt Furie. The latter two are just about at the end of their active periods.
* finally, here's the rare crowd-funding comics show, this one diversity-driven and superhero-centric.
* all supportive thoughts to Heather Antos, ragged on by feckless comics dorks who think there's some sort of legitimate gender argument to be had about the make-up of the comics industry and creative community that concludes there should be fewer women in comics. I'm not even sure if that kind of stupidity is measurable with existing tools. Clearly women have long been valuable to comics at all levels; clearly more women being hired to industry gigs is an awesome thing; clearly this took too long to start happening and should accelerate. To my eyes, it's just as clear that about 85 percent of the 40 best creators under 40 are women. No one should doubt these self-evident truths simply because some special soldiers out there feel someone has a job they deserve. Boo-hoo.
Go, Listen/Bookmark: Recent Run Of Comics-Related Interviews At Virtual Memories
I caught up with Gil Roth's recent run of comics-related interviews at Virtual Memories while cleaning the house yesterday afternoon. I've only haphazardly linked to them via this blog, so I wanted to give the run more exposure.
It's a nice mix of creators, too -- not in the traditional comics sense, but in terms of the personalities involved. Here you go:
FFF Results Post #484—Forever Summer
On Friday, CR readers were asked to "Five Giant-Size Or Annual Or Super-Spectacular Comics Or Any Other Bigger Than Usual Comics You Relate To Summer Comics Reading." This is how they responded.
When I was a kid, I would go to Greece for a month to visit family and go to the beach (tough break, I know), and I would set aside a few comic books I felt would be optimal to read (and re-read) while I was away. Also, I remember seeing large treasury edition comics in airport newsstands, which kind of blows my mind now. I had not thought of those days in a while, so thanks for that stroll down memory lane. Here’s my list:
1. Superman Vs. Muhammed Ali
2. New Mutants Annual #3
3. Avengers Annual #16
4. Fantasy Sports #1
5. MAD Super Summer Special '83
1) Limited Collectors Edition #C-22 -- Tarzan of the Apes.
The entire origin of Tarzan by Joe Kubert. I read this (and the second one) a dozen times.
2) Limited Collectors Edition #C-52 -- The Best of DC.
A terrific Neal Adams story, creepy Aparo short, one of my favorite Toth stories, The Dirty job (read it here first), Kubert Firehair, and a great extended Swam Superman story. Perfect reading experience.
3) DC Special Series #15 -- Batman. Marshall Rogers, Michael Golden, Mike Nasser, all new.
4) Detective Comics #439 -- This issue has my favorite Batman story, written by Steve Englehart and drawn by Sal Amendola… Night of the Stalker. Some nice Golden Age reprints but the capper is the third chapter of Goodwin and Simonson’s Manhunter series. This is as good as comics get.
5) All-New Collectors’ Edition #C-56 -- Superman vs. Muhammad Ali. Yeah, it’s crazy, but holy crap did I love this book!
1. Avengers Annual 2
2. DC 100 pages Super Spectacular #6
3. Batman #223 (Dangers Around the World!)
4. DC Treasury Edition #21 Shazam
5. Master of Kung Fu #100
*****
Matt Emery
1. Fantastic Four Annual #14
2. 2000AD Annual 1984
3. Dan Dare Annual 1979
4. Star Wars Treasury Edition
5. Eagle Holiday Special 1983
*****
Anthony Stock
1. New Mutants Annual #9
2. Batman Annual #14
3. The Batman Adventures Annual #2
4. Mad XL #1
5. Skyscrapers of the Midwest #1 & 2
1. Avengers Annual #10
2. Bone: The Complete Cartoon Epic in One Volume
3. Action Comics #500
4. The Uncanny X-Men and the New Teen Titans #1
5. DC Special Series #15 (Batman Spectacular)
*****
Sean Kleefeld
1. Fantastic Four Annual #17
2. "Days of Future Present" -- Fantastic Four Annual #23/New Mutants Annual #6/X-Factor Annual #5/Uncanny X-Men Annual #14
3. Giant-Size Invaders #1
4. Groo the Wanderer Special #1
5. DC 100-Page Super Spectacular #14
*****
thanks to all that participated; remember that if you cheat slightly, that's up to you, but many weekends I'll bounce you to save myself time on the results post.
Musa Kart Among Group Of Journalists Under Trial In Turkey Released To Court Supervision Here. The releasing part is good, that others aren't is bullshit, that Kart is still being prosecuted is a shit-show. We need to always remember the casual nature of this country's terrorist act against its citizen, backed by strained reasoning, for political purpose. It can happy very quickly, and when it's done, it's done. Walking parts of it back merely places boundaries around the injustice done.
Five For Friday #484 -- Name Five Giant-Size Or Annual Or Super-Spectacular Comics Or Any Other Bigger Than Usual Comics You Relate To Summer Comics Reading.
* Joe Glass writes about the Carousel function available through Instagram and its implications for comics creation. Everything can be used to make comics so whenever an article asks if something can lead to more comics, I tend to think "yes."
* finally: more industry trading cards from comiXology, including an elite series within the series. If some comics people can be given something, other comics people will also want to be given that thing.
* conventional wisdom says there's never much of an post-Eisner bump for winning comics, but Sonny Liew's work as it's sold in Singapore may be the exception.
* the Pittsburgh institution and legendary writer about comics Tony Norman profiles Jim Rugg and his new book.
* Comic-Con has made official its 2018 dates: July 19-22 with a July 18 preview night. I hope to be there early July 19 through late July 21 in my standard operating mode: exhaustion, sweat and confusion.
* between now and then it is likely we will see movement if not a conclusion in the Comic-Con case against other shows using "comic con" as a descriptive. As I've stated before, I'm of two minds: I feel like Comic-Con International really does have and has had shows draft behind it with similar models and building on the good word that Comic-Con International surged out of the '90s with even as just about every other show fell to shit. At the same time, the legal remedy of seizing "comic con" really does seem like they're laying claim to a generic word. That's late-nigh dormitory hallway analysis, though; I have no idea the strength of that argument legally and I guess we'll find out at some point.
* with Autoptic suspending things for 2017 I'm not sure most of my comics acquaintances have a significant show to do until September and SPX. That's one of the finest shows going, and the build-up will be beneficial for it, I think. I know there are others between now and then, and I hope to cover them all.
* not comics: I don't pay much attention to the movies and toys parts of Comic-Con as neither I nor anyone I bring in to work on the show (an elite crew... well, small) has much interest in that kind of hype or specialized shopping. Still, I was sad to hear about people counterfeiting Hall H wristbands to access that special part of the movie hype portion of the show. Genre media fans have a really ugly entitled, hustling mentality upon which we should shit at every single opportunity. I know that people think this kind of thing is no big deal because seeing celebrities at panel is a minor life event, but there's a sustained malice in this kind of screwing that strikes me as worse than crimes of incompetence or sudden mistake. I feel badly for the folks that played by the rules that didn't get in, and a four-day pass offer with a promise for better communication at the show, while also tightening things up security-wise, that seems a proper response.
* finally, this was the other weird cultural reaction to CCI story from last weekend. That seems extra dumb, although I have to say I flew United and I didn't hear about this from anyone. I carried my bags, though.
* the artist and cartoonist Sarah McIntyre writes a post for those of us that have a hard time talking about drawing with kids. That's right, I am one of those people.
* in addition to everything else she does well, Liza Donnelly has made an additional name for herself as one of those cartoonists that livedraws, or draws quickly in reaction to something she's seeing. Her latest target is Stephen Colbert's late-night talk show.
Go, Read: Musa Kart Releases Trial Statement Here. That is a thrilling, heartbreaking read and I urge everyone to give it the four-five minutes it takes to read it all. I can't even imagine facing what Musa Kart has to face here, but that's the point: he couldn't either, until it happened, and it happened in a very matter-of-fact way. Believing it couldn't happen was no defense at all.
Editorial Cartoonist John Darkow’s Staff Position Eliminated Amid His Newspaper’s Cutbacks Story at AAEC here; the newspaper is the Daily Tribune in Columbia. Darkow isn't as high-profile a fire as the recent Nick Anderson move that left the entire state of Texas without a staff position, but every such staffed job is significant. In a way, Missouri is the cradle of modern American journalism (schools, range of important newspapers, early partnerships across media), so what papers do there always ends up being a bit more important than same-level moves in similar states.
Darkow was let go at the beginning of the summer, and plans on continuing to draw. I can't tell if his latest two Cagle-syndicated cartoons represent post-staff work or not.
This Isn’t A Library: New, Notable Releases Into The Direct Market
*****
Here are the books that make an impression on me staring at this week's no-doubt largely accurate list of books shipping from Diamond Comic Distributors, Inc. to comic book and hobby shops across North America.
I might not buy all of the works listed here. I might not buy any. You never know. I'd sure look at the following, though.
*****
MAY170648 STREET ANGEL GANG HC $19.99
This is splendid-looking, as is a lot of what Jim Rugg does -- particularly with this character.
MAY170066 BPRD DEVIL YOU KNOW #1 $3.99 MAY170710 SAGA #45 (MR) $2.99
I could find very little in the serial comic book format this time out, but a new BPRD is always welcome by me, and a new Saga is always welcome by comics shops. This was the first Saga I read where I had a hard time remembering some of the narrative through-lines: much more likely a sign of senility on my part than creative decline in the comic book.
MAY170382 TMNT USAGI YOJIMBO CVR A SAKAI $7.99 MAY170383 TMNT USAGI YOJIMBO CVR B ARAGONES $7.99 MAR170064 USAGI YOJIMBO SAGA LEGENDS LTD ED HC $79.99 MAR170063 USAGI YOJIMBO SAGA LEGENDS TP $24.99
I will buy every thing that Stan Sakai makes. I extend this same courtesy to another natural cartoonist, Sergio Aragones, so I'll be picking up at least one variant cover book this week if I can help it.
NOV160071 HOW TO WIN AT LIFE BY CHEATING AT EVERYTHING TP $14.99
I'm not interest in the book, or cheating, but there are illustrations here by the popular proto-comics humor columnist Scott Shaw!. It's been a while since I've seen a lot of his work in one place, so I'd pick up this book in a shop for sure.
MAY171061 CLOUD STORIES GN (MR) $20.00
This is K. Thor Jensen's one-man anthology cycling around the idea of "clouds." Jensen was the youngest member of the Seattle cartooning scene of the 1990s and only rarely releases material so having a full book is great.
JUN171801 HENRY AND GLENN FOREVER AND EVER HC $25.95 JUN171802 HENRY AND GLENN ADULT COLORING BOOK (MR) $12.95
That's another 16 pages of Henry and Glenn material in the latest collection, followed by the latest in the I'm-guessing past-the-crest coloring book trend. I bet a significant percentage of people have tried to color at least one page of one of those books, even if, like me, they're not really coloring people.
MAY170645 SOLID STATE TP $19.99
This is the companion to Jonathan Coulton's new albums, bringing to it the talents of Matt Fraction and Albert Monteys. That makes it the highest curiosity book of the week for those of us lucky to go to stores that carry it.
JUN172265 COMICS ART IN CHINA HC $65.00 JUN172266 COMICS OF CHARLES SCHULZ GOOD GRIEF OF MODERN LIFE HC $65.00 JUN172267 COMICS TRAUMA AND NEW ART OF WAR HC $65.00
Three scholarly books priced for academia. The first one is probably the most interesting, another John Lent exploration of non-Japanese Asian comics. Lent owns that subject matter in English to the point I'm pretty sure he could make up artists and not get called on it for a few years. It's also one of the last areas of comics where I think there are major discovers yet to be made.
JUN172269 JIM SHOOTER CONVERSATIONS HC $40.00
This should be interesting because Shooter's interviews frequently serve a political purpose according to his position on an issue of the time. There's also a wide range of interviews stretching back to his boy-wonder days. Great choice for a volume from this series, although the content may thwart that appraisal.
MAY172122 KIRBY KING OF THE COMICS ANNIV ED SC $24.99
Happy 100th to the King. We're not talking about him enough this month.
APR172092 REED CRANDALL ILLUSTRATOR OF COMICS HC $49.95
I'm happy for every comics biography even when they aren't likely as grand or insightful as work by people like Patrick Rosenkranz and Bill Schelly because I fear a lot of mainstream work is about to fall off a cliff interest-wise, particularly interest in those artists not linked directly to a currently popular super-character. A lot of these artists weren't very well served by coverage at the time they were important figures or immediately after -- Wally Wood's TCJ obit, for example, was 1-2 pages long instead of the 15 it might have been a dozen years later. That price point says fans-only + art book, but it's still nice to have around.
MAY171676 QUEEN EMERALDAS HC GN VOL 02 (OF 2) (C: 0-1-0) $24.99
I don't cover manga very well because I don't read nearly enough of it. I know without reading this specific volume that it's worth picking up because of what seems like so little Leiji Matsumoto available in an easy way to the general public. I hope I remembered to cite the first volume in this column, but probably didn't.
*****
The full list of this week's releases, including some titles with multiple cover variations and a long, impressive list of toys and other stuff that isn't comics, can be found here. Despite this official list there's no guarantee a comic will show up in the stores as promised, or in all of the stores as opposed to just a few. Also, stores choose what they carry and don't carry so your shop may not carry a specific publication. There are a lot of comics out there.
To find your local comic book store, check this list; and for one I can personally recommend because I've shopped there, albeit a while back, try this.
The above titles are listed with their Diamond order code in the first field, which may assist you in finding comics at your shop or having them order something for you they don't have in-stock. Ordering through a direct market shop can be a frustrating experience, so if you have a direct line to something -- you know another shop has it, you know a bookstore has it -- I'd urge you to consider all of your options.
If I failed to list your comic, that's because I hate you.
* Christopher Borrelli profiles Geof Darrow. I like this one: Darrow comes across as articulate, good-humored and down to earth.
* the Algerian man involved with a group of Philadelphia-area people in targeting artist Lars Wilks for death because of his post-Danish cartoons Muhammed-as-dog stunt has come to Philadelphia.
* a bit of not comics: there were a lot of fun feature articles about Comic-Con this year as more and more truly pop savvy writers come of age at various publications. This article about the first Star Wars panel at the show way back in the '70s was one of best of this year's crop.
Comics Workbook Announces Its Composition Competition
Here. A lot of interesting work bursts out of this contest every year, and there are prizes beyond what you learn completing a project according to the Frank Santoro-established guidelines for comics creation.
Bundled, Tossed, Untied & Stacked: Publishing News Special Comic-Con And Pre-Con Announcements 2017 By Tom Spurgeon
* there's a ton more stuff to come, and if I can get my shit together I'll present what's left that seems worth noting in next week's column or as stand-alone. For now, here's what struck me as important in a classic publishing-news sense from Comic-Con International 2017.
* here's one that seems a bit underplayed: one more volume of League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen; one more volume of comics in the careers of Alan Moore and Kevin O'Neill. That one starts next June. I like much of that work, and of course Moore in particular is a top 10 all-time comics-maker in terms of influence. This one sounds like a story to be developed and revisited in the months ahead.
* in my favorite announcements of Comic-Con 2017, Drawn and Quarterly confirmed they'll be collecting and publishing two great serials of the alternative comics era: Berlin in Fall 2018 and Clyde Fans in 2019. They will also be doing a kind of archival treatment of Dirty Plotte with a bunch of support material -- that book already sounds amazing.
* Ed Piskor will be doing a major story-of X-Men series for Marvel over the next few Decembers. That should be fun, and it's forward thinking for the company to let an artist like Piskor provide his take on characters for which I'm assuming he has some affection. It's sort of like DC talking about publishing sellable bookstore perennials, but a different company doing one and not through their serials and events.
* this is potentially interesting: Glenat and IDW partnering on original graphic novel creation. That's going to be all about execution given the crowded market, but the structure is there for support for sure. Nothing blows me away in the first group announced, although Mike Carey is a writer of interest, particularly working with Peter Gross.
* Fantagraphics I don't think announced anything at the show except the completion of the fourth volume in the Pogo series, which is announcement enough. Those are pretty glorious comics, some of the best looking of all time, and I think this is a nice time to place volumes like that into libraries because I don't think that great strip has had a second life even to the extent that a few other equally popular strips have.
* on July 12 Lion Forge Comics expands its all-ages ClubHouse imprint with Glint: Loon's Army, from Samuel Sattin and Ian McGinty.
* Frank Miller announced via panel drop-in that he and John Romita Jr. will be doing a Superman: Year One graphic novel. This fits into DC's asserted general strategy of the moment: emphasizing the jumpstart of potential bookstore perennials across several categories. Both of them can still be intriguing artists, although I have to say I can't work up much enthusiasm for another version of an old character.
* it doesn't get much more solid publishing new of the sweet, sweet books-to-come variety than details for lines arriving from two former DC/Vertigo stalwarts: Shelly Bond's Black Crown line at IDW: Karen Berger's Berger Books group at Dark Horse.
* so many, many, many comics hitting a market that can't handle the comics being published. We're France now.
* finally, Marvel continues to fill out its Legacy publishing slate. Like most of the DC launches this century, I can't tell the difference between these comics and random comics from 2008, say, but maybe I'm not supposed to.
* this article is interesting. I think DC's doing an okay job right now of creating the best books they can and looking at wide strategies. I disagree with some of their plans and arguments. It's pretty cheeky for DC to suggest they need a new generation of stand-alone works like Watchmen when they spent the last five years being pretty bad stewards of that work as a book of literary value and stand-alone importance. I suspect most of what would make DC a better place isn't strategizing. My hunch is that it's execution and return/reward: execution by making DC a place where every single pro I know doesn't at some point in my first 30 minutes of talking to them tell me what a horrible pain in the ass it is to work at DC, return/reward by providing a way to attract top talent increasingly looking towards creating their own work and controlling their own media rights. I think the deals with Warren Ellis and Gerard Way are more interesting than the bulk that's been discussed here: at least that's a new model.
AAEC Makes Statement On Nick Anderson’s Firing The AAEC through its board of directors issued a statement Wednesday about the recent firing of editorial cartoonist Nick Anderson by the Houston Chronicle.
The Chronicle is a Hearst Communications publication. Anderson joined the paper in 2006.
The Board of Directors of the Association of American Editorial Cartoonists has released a statement on Nick Anderson and his firing by the Houston Chronicle/Hearst Communications:
"The firing of Pulitzer prize winning editorial cartoonist Nick Anderson is a misguided, short-term cost cutting maneuver by the Houston Chronicle and Hearst Communications. The elimination of his position now means there isn't one on-staff newspaper editorial cartoonist in the entire state of Texas to provide local visual commentary and hold the state government accountable to its citizens.
"Editorial cartoonists are a historically important and powerful component of American journalism. Editorial cartoons are very popular with readers; they look to their local cartoonist to provide satirical observations of their representatives and government officials. Especially in these times where our country's free press is under attack by the current administration, the work of editorial cartoonists resonates with Americans and provide a vital component of the political dialogue that our democracy needs in order to thrive.
"While we acknowledge the financial challenges publishers face with the online market, eliminating original content is not the answer.
"We denounce the actions of Hearst Communications in their short-sighted cost cuts at the expense of the health of the editorial cartoonist profession and journalism in general."
Signing the letter are Ann Telnaes (AAEC President), Pat Bagley (President-Elect), Nate Beeler (Vice President), Monte Wolverton (Secretary-Treasurer) and Adam Zyglis, (immediate past President). Three board members also signed: Ed Hall, Kevin Siers and Signe Wilkinson. Anderson is a past president of the organization, and is probably still best known for winning the Pulitzer in 2005 while at the Louisville Courier-Journal.
Although staffed editorial cartoonist firings seem more rare than they were in the previous decade, that's in part because there are far fewer position out there that could conceivably be at risk. I believe the most thriving papers find some way to use an editorial cartoonist on staff: local cartoons, web site enhancements, sales-through-personality. Anderson is widely syndicated and highly skilled and won't see his voice silenced by the move by any means, making the loss one that gets passed to paper and readers.
Comics By Request: People, Places In Need Of Funding By Tom Spurgeon
* here's hoping that Hero Initiative and CBLDF had great San Diego weekends; that's a vital time on the calendar for both of those traditional comics charities.
* this picture got a lot of attention. That's a lovely moment, and I'm happy for kids that were previously kept from seeing themselves in heroic roles in mass entertainment now beginning to have opportunities to see themselves that way. I think most people agree on that. I hope that's clear even when some of us distrust the corporate nature of some of these characters or are confused a bit wondering how healthy it might be for adults to have that same relationship to licensed properties that kids might.
* in case you missed it, Flo Steinberg passed away. She was a notably nice person in a medium that has thousands of them, an important cog in the Marvel Comics culture of the 1960s, a key publisher in underground-to-independent comics and an object lesson for the ages in that her late 1960s departure from Marvel is a perfect example of how many of these companies have been unable to properly reward smart, capable people, particularly when they're not white males.
FFF Results Post #483—Pros At Cons
On Friday, CR readers were asked to "Name Five Comics-Makers You Met At A Convention, If Only In Passing." This is how they responded.
*****
Scott Dunbier
1) Otomo (SDCC)
2) Serpieri (Lucca)
3) Eddie Campbell (United Kingdon Comic Art Convention)
4) Ernie Colón (New York Creation Convention)
5) Robert Crumb (Angouleme)
*****
Mike Borelli
* Jack Davis: Brooklyn Comics and Graphics Festival 2011
* Chris Ware: Brooklyn Comics and Graphics Festival 2012
* Daniel Clowes: CAB 2015
* Arnold Roth MOCCA 2013
* Art Spiegelman MOCCA 2014
*****
Mário Filipe
1. Ben Katchor (Salão Lisboa de Ilustração e Banda Desenhada, 1998)
2. Ed Brubaker (Salão Internacional de Banda Desenhada do Porto, 1999)
3. Fabrice Neaud (Salão Lisboa, 2000)
4. Edmond Baudoin (Salão Lisboa, 2000)
5. Hunt Emerson (Amadora BD, 2016)
P.S.: The picture is of a sketch made by Fabrice Neaud of Edmond Baudoin, who was sitting next to him, at the Salão Lisboa In 2000.
*****
Roger Langridge
* Shaenon K Garrity (SDCC)
* Dustin Harbin (SPX)
* Chris Samnee (Baltimore Comic Con)
* Mike Maihack (Heroes Con)
* Chris Weston (Lille Comic Festival)
*****
Andrew Mansell
1. Richard Thompson (HeroesCon)
2. Jaime Hernandez (HeroesCon)
3. Sergio Aragones (CXC)
4. Jerry Ordway (Chicago Comic Con)
5. Roger Langridge (HeroesCon)
*****
Des Devlin
* Will Eisner (Seuling Comic Art Con), in a cranky mood
* Dave Sim (Big Apple Comic Con), complimented my shirt
* Bob Kane (Creation Con), very friendly, drew a Batman head for me
* Mort Walker (Seuling Comic Art Con), dopily asked him the where-do-you-get-your-ideas? question
* Arnold Roth (New York Comic Con), what a nice guy
*****
Scott Stewart
1. Dan Clowes -- ChicagoCon
2. Frank Stack (Foolbert Sturgeon) -- ChicagoCon
3. Archie Goodwin -- ChicagoCon
4. P. Craig Russell -- Kansas City con
5. Jean Giraud (Moebius) -- ChicagoCon
Not a creator: Buster Crabbe (OAFcon '70, Oklahoma City)
Not a convention: Joe Simon, Jerry Robinson, Will Eisner, C.C. Beck, Jules Feiffer (1976 Comic Art Symposium, Lincoln, NE)
*****
Tom Spurgeon
1. Henriette Valium (SPX)
2. Chris Schweizer (HeroesCon)
3. Moritat (SDCC)
4. Sarah Dyer (Chicago Comic Con)
5. Miriam Katin (MoCCA Festival)
*****
Dan Boyd
1: Sergio Aragones (Orlando Con)
2: Peter Bagge (Dragon Con)
3: Sam Hiti (MegaCon)
4: Dean Haspiel (SDCC)
5: Rob Ullman (Fluke)
*****
Philippe Leblanc
* Kelly Tindall (Ottawa Comic-Con)
* Anya Davidson (TCAF)
* Ben Templesmith (Ottawa Comic-Con)
* Nicole Marie Burton (TCAF)
* Michael Comeau (TCAF)
*****
Caleb Orechio
1. Frank Santoro (PIX)
2. Kurt Ankeny (CXC)
3. Mardou (CXC)
4. Jim Rugg (Genghis Con)
5. Lale Westvind (PIX)
1. Warren Ellis (Wizard World Chicago)
2. Sergio Aragones (Mid-Ohio Con)
3. Jim Steranko (Cincinnati Comic Expo)
4. Brian Walker (ICAF)
5. Humberto Ramos (C2E2)
*****
Brad Mackay
1. Gary Panter (TCAF circa 2007)
2. Seth (TCAF)
3. Will Eisner (Toronto Comic Con)
4. Xaime Hernandez (TCAF)
5. Gilbert Hernandez (TCAF)
*****
Chris Pitzer
* Evan Dorkin (SDCC)
* David Mazzucchelli (SPX)
* Matt Wagner (Phoenix Comicon)
* Vincent Stall (TCAF)
* Dustin Harbin (HeroesCon)
*****
Bruce Canwell
* Gil Kane (at a now-long-defunct mid-1980s Boston convention)
* Carmine Infantino (the one-shot 1999 convention in White Plains, NY -- "The Great American Comics Convention," was it called?)
* John Workman (Ramapo)
* Joe Kubert (NYCC)
* Fred Hembeck (Baltimore Comic-Con)
And I'll also note that I met you, Tom, at SDCC ten years ago, when you moderated the panel on comic strips on which I was a participant (along with Eric Reynolds, Steve Tippie, Bob Harvey, and Charlie Pelto). Editor's Note: Egad.
Jill Thompson, Sonny Liew and Love Is Love were big winners at a very Eisner-y Eisners program last night. Liew and Thompson won three awards each while Love Is Love took the best anthology category they had to fight to get into and afforded its primary mover Marc Andreyko a Bob Clampett Humanitarian Award.
The awards itself seemed refreshingly shifted around a bit categories-wise, although by evening's end felt as long as any other recent program. Chip Zdarsky, Thomas Lennon and Wayne Brady were funny. A lot of folks weren't, as is the custom.
My personal favorite moment of the evening was induction into the Hall of Fame for Gilbert Hernandez and Jaime Hernandez, only the second time the legendary alt-comics cartoonists were on the winning end of an Eisner honor. They seemed genuinely touched, and so was I.
The Eisner Awards are voted on by the comics professional community and given out during a program held the weekend of Comic-Con International.
Winners in bold.
*****
BEST SHORT STORY
* "The Comics Wedding of the Century," by Simon Hanselmann, in We Told You So: Comics as Art (Fantagraphics)
* "The Dark Nothing," by Jordan Crane, in Uptight #5 (Fantagraphics) * "Good Boy," by Tom King and David Finch, in Batman Annual #1 (DC)
* "Monday," by W. Maxwell Prince and John Amor, in One Week In The Library (Image)
* "Mostly Saturn," by Michael DeForge, in Island Magazine #8 (Image)
* "Shrine of the Monkey God!" by Kim Deitch, in Kramers Ergot 9 (Fantagraphics)
Assembled Extra: Rob Salkowitz Profiles Comixology At Forbes
This broad piece on David Steinberger and comiXology's big-picture issues snuck out at the tail end of last week when a big chunk of the comics world was getting on early planes for this weekend's SDCC or paying to D23 or desperately trying to get some work done. Articles like these can be rough but in the case of that person and that company I think a lot of the more broadly-conceived issues are the ones that have he most meaning right now.
* Michael Dooley provides a visual guide corresponding to some of the Eisner nominees. I think. To be honest, I couldn't quite tell what he was up to, to be honest, but those articles are always well-enough illustrated you should take a look.
Bundled Extra: Jeff Smith Releasing His First Picture Book Through Scholastic
Jeff Smith and Scholastic's Graphix imprint announced a first picture book for the celebrated cartoonist during last night's "Preview Night" at Comic-Con International. That continues one of comics most beneficial publisher/cartoonist partnerships of the last fifty years.
The hard-news portion of the PR:
"On Preview Night at 2017's San Diego Comic Con International, Jeff Smith announced his plans to publish his debut picture book, Smiley's Dream Book (ISBN: 978-0-545-67477-5) with Graphix, an imprint of Scholastic. David Saylor, Vice President, Creative Director of Trade Publishing, and Editorial Director of Graphix acquired the book with English language publication rights in the United States, Canada, and the Philippines. Smiley's Dream Book will be the first of two picture books featuring Smiley Bone and the Bone cousins, and is slated to publish in Summer 2018."
As the PR mentions, it looks like we'll get at least one more. I saw some pages of this at one point, and they're quite gorgeous.
* added two events to the forthcoming sections: St. Louis Small Press Expo in October and Comic Arts Brooklyn in November. It's good to see there will be a CAB this year -- it strikes me that this is a yearly decision by Gabe Fowler -- and it's great to see they'll be on a different weekend than Short Run in Seattle. A few folks do both.
* festivals extra: Graeme McMillan at Hollywood Reporter's "Heat Vision" blog has news of a Coyote Doggirl collection from Lisa Hanawalt, through her publisher of recent years Drawn and Quarterly. We should see that one Fall 2018. That work is very strong, I think.
Go, Look: Gender Representation In (Mainstream) Comics
Here. That seems a nice snapshot of broad descriptives for the superhero subset of comic books in terms of gender, cleverly and appealingly presented. It certainly makes that whole group of comics look creatively stifled in terms of unimaginative choices, which is what it feels like for a lot of us in the reading of them.
This Isn’t A Library: New, Notable Releases Into The Direct Market
*****
Here are the books that make an impression on me staring at this week's no-doubt largely accurate list of books shipping from Diamond Comic Distributors, Inc. to comic book and hobby shops across North America.
I might not buy all of the works listed here. I might not buy any. You never know. I'd sure look at the following, though.
*****
MAR171775 SONGY OF PARADISE HC (MR) $34.99
This is a pretty standard comic book store week during Comic-Con madness, so I'll fire through these pretty quickly. First rate belle of this particular ball from Gary Panter, one of the great cartoonists still at the top or at least near-top of his game. Paner's one of the few cartoonists I'll buy sight unseen but everything I've olooked athere ascharged
MAY170589 MOONSTRUCK #1 $3.99 MAY170657 BITCH PLANET TRIPLE FEATURE #2 (MR) $3.99 MAY170692 INVINCIBLE #138 (MR) $2.99 MAY178160 WINNEBAGO GRAVEYARD #1 (OF 4) 2ND PTG $3.99 MAY170741 WINNEBAGO GRAVEYARD #2 (OF 4) CVR A SAMPSON $3.99 MAY170742 WINNEBAGO GRAVEYARD #2 (OF 4) CVR B RUBIN $3.99 MAY170763 SECRET EMPIRE #6 (OF 10) $4.99
It strikes me as a lighter-than-usual week for comic-book serial comics. Grace Ellis and Shae Beagle's fantasy series debut strikes me as the clear winner in terms of attention and I hope enough comics shoppers try that one out to give it a chance in a tough marketplace. Bitch Planet Triple Feature feels like it may need a few issues to find its level: finding comics-makers skilled at short stories and making broader/deeper a speculative world are hard enough tasks, each on their own. Invincible accelerates towards its conclusion. Crimson masks for everyone!. That's a good sign for Winnebago Graveyard to have a first issue repeated at the same time a second issue drops, but we don't know for sure without seeing reliably reported hard numbers. Finally, Secret Empire gives us a string of plot points but I'll be damned if I can suss out a satisfying narrative here. It's like an exercise in event storytelling rather than an event.
FEB170299 ADAM STRANGE THE SILVER AGE OMNIBUS HC VOL 01 $99.99
The stripped-down Adam Strange look and foundational narrative hook make it a prime property for eventual other-media exploitation... why wait? These are solid Silver Age comics that tend not to be out there in a lot of formats outside of archival.
MAR170563 AMELIA COLE OMNIBUS TP $39.99
This is not a series I've ever read, but I have to imagine it might do better penetrating a wider array of comics fans' consciousness in this format. I'll certainly take a second look.
APR171143 BLACK EYED PEAS PRESENTS MASTERS SUN ZOMBIES CHRONICLES HC $24.99
That is a great fucking title. Pure madness.
JAN178427 VALERIAN COMPLETE COLLECTION HC VOL 02 $29.99 JAN178428 VALERIAN COMPLETE COLLECTION HC VOL 03 $29.99
I'm not certain what Valerian/Laureline I'll eventually want in my collection, but I'll take a look at these books and decide if this series is the one. Those books are fun albeit very French in terms of its wry presentation of some hoary cliches. It looks like a million bucks a page, too, for sure.
APR172091 BACK ISSUE #98 $8.95
All respect on the approach to #100. Even a single issue of a magazine is hard.
MAR170579 RIP KIRBY HC VOL 10 $49.99
Now we're getting into the old-man market where I live, albeit ten volumes into a series that I might have been happy to see sampled rather than archived. This volume lurches into the early 1970s, and is more solid than remarkable at this point, some 25 years in.
MAY171617 JASON SHIGA DEMON SC GN VOL 03 $19.99
First Second's most interesting acquisition of the last several years moves into its second half firing on all of its bonkers cylinders. Jason Shiga's cartoons are less satisfying narratives than super-intriguing problem-solving exercises, but there's certainly nothing else like it on the market. Take a look if you're unfamiliar.
*****
The full list of this week's releases, including some titles with multiple cover variations and a long, impressive list of toys and other stuff that isn't comics, can be found here. Despite this official list there's no guarantee a comic will show up in the stores as promised, or in all of the stores as opposed to just a few. Also, stores choose what they carry and don't carry so your shop may not carry a specific publication. There are a lot of comics out there.
To find your local comic book store, check this list; and for one I can personally recommend because I've shopped there, albeit a while back, try this.
The above titles are listed with their Diamond order code in the first field, which may assist you in finding comics at your shop or having them order something for you they don't have in-stock. Ordering through a direct market shop can be a frustrating experience, so if you have a direct line to something -- you know another shop has it, you know a bookstore has it -- I'd urge you to consider all of your options.
If I failed to list your comic, that's because I hate you.
If I Were In San Diego, I’d Go To This this is for preview night; I did this listing before they had a devoted site for the 2017 version so you might not to find it on the main CCI page
* Comic-Con articles: Variety has a trends article, although I'm not sure what they're describing are actually trends as I think of them. This CNN digital-arena article sorts through the idea the proliferation of on-line resources to see and hear things has damaged CCI's ability to be a repository of pop-culture reveals. I'm not sure it has, and in a broader sense I'm not sure it matters. The LA Timeshas a feature that manages to fold in the story of Chuck Rozanski bailing on the show, which is admirable, but there's very little questioning of that story. Mile High is a major retailer but their replication on the convention floor of what you can buy anywhere in the country the other 360 days of the calendar year seems to me like it was doomed to eventually fail. Unlike the post Rory Root loss of Comic Relief, where that store allowed access to books featured on panels and in awards shows, I can't imagine Mile High being gone having much of an effect on the floor itself. It's symbolic, for sure, though.
* finally, this article on Marvel's forthcoming plans outside of and within their Doctor Strange comic interested me for how explicit it is about the next big plot shift. There was something really weird about the latest version of the comic since its initial issues, in that there was very little narrative compulsion to keep the comic going once the latest concept was unpacked.
Musa Kart Set For Trial On July 24 Reminder here. Musa Kart's predicament strikes me as a travesty even if there's slam-dunk case built along the lines asserted. Those lines just don't strike me as strong enough to merit the jailing and trial of a veteran journalist that works in cartoon form. This is a bad situation for Kart and a bad precedent for the civilized world.
No matter the outcome, I hope people keep in mind how deliberately and matter-of-factly these journalists were rounded up and shoved cell-first into a legal system at an odd angle, all assumed arguments for and pretension to some semblance of a functioning press exposed as a myth. It can happen that quickly. It can happen anywhere these ideas have taken hold.
Go, Read: Tom Toro Trump Cartoon Process Article Here. The tone of the piece is a little PR-y for my taste -- I don't have to be told a cartoon's quality when it's right there for me to see -- but I like the choices for the process notes and how much distance needs to be traveled for a final joke. Cartooning of this type can be so, so precise, even when the humor is really broad.
Bundled, Tossed, Untied & Stacked: Publishing News By Tom Spurgeon
* here's Steve Lieber paying tribute to Al Hirschfeld on a cover for his The Fix series. That's super cute.
* here's a bunch of covers and information on Karen Berger's new comics line, including an Anthony Bourdain comic that seems closer to the Harvey Pekar fan side of his personality than the Ramones fan side of his creative skill-set.
* finally, I'm going to focus as much as I can on my blogging this trip. I'm not sure how much publishing stuff will be announced, although certainly we'll get something from the bulk of the mainstream and sort-of mainstream publishers in attendance. I'll also ask around after projects. I think a lot of people will be looking with some curiosity towards Marvel in terms of fleshing out its Fall in-full-stride revamp, particularly moves that might enhance the experience of reading those comics.
Random Comics News Story Round-Up * Andy Oliver on Badger Vs. Tiger!.
* here's a reprint of an essay about The Cat, an early '70s attempt by Marvel to present a superhero to an audience that was at least cognizant of second-wave feminism.
Festivals Extra: Michael Cieply On CCI’s Tax Filings
With San Diego Con this week, a few of the business-oriented reporters are bound to take a look at the most recent tax filings available to them. This year Michael Cieply is first out of the gate. Cieply notes the recent bump-up in salary for some of the principals, which he gets into through John Rogers.
Missed It: Bergdoll Collection To The Billy Ireland
Because of a previous acquisition by the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum of underground comix-related material I totally missed a bigger, more significant collection going to the Columbus institution discussed here.
The weird hitch step in comics history where the mature comics-making for many of the underground great dovetailed into the emerging alternative comics movement and its mostly mainstream roots has given us a strange conception of that generation's comics that I think will have to be pulled about and examined as the practitioners themselves fade from view. That's a very exciting prospect as I wonder if we aren't due maybe major reconsiderations of up to two dozen cartoonists before 2030. Having this material in research-friendly institutions will be important to that effort.
Comics By Request: People, Places In Need Of Funding By Tom Spurgeon
* Quimby's NYC is trying to complete their signage in what is likely to be one of the most swag-driven crowd-funding campaigns of the year (thanks, Walter Dickinson).
* San Diego Con is a great week to consider a gift or two, whether you have some money freed up by not going. The CBLDF and Hero Initiative are set up at the show and are worth a visit, always. There's a Humble Bundle going tied into comics charities featuring Will Eisner and Jack Kirby.
* finally, Joamette Gil's crowdfunder on behalf of a queer witch anthology is at that point it needs to build some more momentum to meet that initial goal. I suspect it will make it.
FFF Results Post #482—Art Party On Friday, CR readers were asked to recommend five comics to the cartoonist Julia Wertz. This is how they responded.
*****
Mister Ecks
1. Ganges #5, Kevin Huizenga
2. Laffy Meal, Pranas T. Naujokaitis
3. Blackwax Boulevard #4, Dmitri Jackson
4. Nest, Marnie Galloway
5. Dollhouse Volume One: Gateway Songs, Ray Nadine
*****
Tom Spurgeon
1. Sunburning, Keiler Roberts
2. Fante Bukowski 2/Blammo #9, Noah Van Sciver
3. Highbone Theater, Joe Daly
4. Unwell, Tara Booth
5. The Bungle Family: 1930, Harry J. Tuthill
1. Cursed Pirate Girl, Jeremy Bastian
2. Goodnight Punpun, Inio Asano
3. Squirrel Girl, Erica Henderson, Ryan North et al
4. One More Year, Simon Hanselmann
5. One Hundred Nights of Hero, Isabel Greenberg
*****
Andy Mansell
1. Big Rock Candy Mountain
2. Corto Maltese Celtic Tales
3. My Favorite Thing is Monsters
4. Mel's Story: Surviving Military Sexual Assault
5. Sacred Heart
*****
Marc-Oliver Frisch
1. Black Rat, Cole Closser
2. The Artist, Anna Haifisch
3. Laid Waste, Julia GfrÖrer
4. Black River, Josh Simmons
5. The Oven, Sophie Goldstein
*****
Rob Kirby
1. The Complete Strange Growths: 1991-1997 by Jenny Zervakis
2. What is a Glacier? by Sophie Yanow
3. Our Mother by Luke Howard
4. Wendy & Wendy's Revenge by Walter Scott
5. I Can't Tell You Anything by Michael Dougan
*****
Josh Leto
* Beautiful Darkness, Vehlmann and Kerascoet
* The Iron Duchess, Roger Langridge
* Sacred Heart, Liz Suburbia
* Generous Bosom, Conor Stechschulte
* Groo (any collection), Sergio Aragones
*****
Justin Colussy-Estes
1) What is a Glacier? by Sophie Yanow (Yanow continues to perfect the lyric essay comic)
2) Your Black Friend by Ben Passmore (Speaking of comics essays, this one is phenomenal)
3) My Favorite Thing Is Monsters by Emil Ferris (my guess is that the is the title that appears most often on this 5 for Friday)
4) The Complete Alack Sinner by Munoz &Sampayo (an old, but scarce until now, and it's mind-blowing)
5) Head Lopper or ApocalyptiGirl by Andrew MacLean (great, kinetic comics in an old, world-building-through-action kind of way)
*****
Philippe Leblanc
1. Big Kids OR Sticks Angelica, Folk Hero by Michael Deforge
2. Band For Life, by Anya Davidson
3. The Nib, daily political comics by various artists
4. Louis Undercover OR Jane, The Fox, And Me by Fanny Britt & Isabelle Arsenault
5. Essex County by Jeff Lemire
*****
Chris Duffy
1. My Favorite Thing Is Monsters by Emil Ferris
2. To Have and To Hold by Graham Chaffee
3. The Revenger Is Trapped by Charles Forsman
4. Why Would You Do That? by Andrea Tsurumi
5. Father and Son by EO Plauen
*****
Stergios Botzakis
1. My Favorite Thing Is Monsters by Emil Ferris
2. You & A Bike & A Road by Eleanor Davis
3. Demon by Jason Shiga
4. Bera The One-Headed Troll by Eric Orchard
5. Sacred Heart by Liz Suburbia
Jack Kirby, Stan Lee Receive Disney Legend Honors At Disneys D23 Expo
Here. I know that there a bunch of politics involved with something like this, and that in the end some honors are dubious in light of past treatment, but I'm of the mind that any honor the world can provide Jack Kirby it should. Kirby should be on the level of someone like Jim Henson or George Lucas in terms of public perception as it relates to his grander co-creations.
It isn't a zero-sum game, either, as Stan Lee joined in at this ceremony as well -- his first big public appearance since the passing of wife Joan.
Festivals Extra: Presenters, Details And Sponsors For This Year’s Eisner Awards Are Now Posted Here. No one really leaps out to me among the presenters, although it's always nice to see Jonathan Ross up there. He's genuinely funny. So is writer/actor Thomas Lennon. I'll be in the back with my feet on the chair in front of me, tweeting.
* Davin Arul on Henchgirl. I think it's a physical book being reviewed, but I think of that one as a webcomic first.
* not comics: I did not know there was a Nimona film planned. If that happens, I imagine it could work very well. I also was't aware of an effort on behalf of Automata.
* RJ Casey talks to Kimberley Motley, the lawyer representing Matt Furie in his legal action regarding his character Pepe The Frog. That should be an interesting case.
* I guess one of the forthcoming wider narrative points from Marvel's hitch-step line-wide re-do will be dealing with the cancer suffered by Jane Foster, the current Thor. That could be a potentially nice storyline for them; that character's situation is affecting. I have my doubts about and easy return to the original Thor guy, though, for plot points in Secret Empire series and for the apparent fact his crisis that led to the hammer going elsewhere stemmed from a philosophical point (gods are bad) rather than a personally emotional one.
Festivals Extra: Bernie Wrightson Tribute Panel Added To SDCC
Go here for word on how a previously-schedule Artist's Edition panel will now be a tribute panel for Bernie Wrightson. Wrightson was much-admired and super well-liked, so I expect they'll get every pro that can make it to that room and maybe a couple playing hooky from other commitments. It's where I'll be Thursday afternoon at 3:30.
I think these memorial panels are more important than you'd know as a first step towards establishing a late artist's currency and agency after their passing. Wrightson strikes me as one of those artists that will live for a very long time, but he was from an era that emphasizes a lot of ways of looking at comics that can work against marking the achievements of signature creators.
* I like all but one of the older comics listed here and about half of the modern ones. My taste isn't anyone's but mine, though, and there are a lot of crowdpleasers throughout. A summer spent reading John Allison, Lynda Barry and EC Segar would be a delightful summer.
* I take it from articles like this that Marvel failed to identify one Spider-Man book as the natural point-to from people seeing the latest Spider-Man film.
* finally, in the realm of community newspapers Jim Morin's Pulitzer win remains breaking news. Nice studio photo, though, you rarely get to see the editorial cartoonists in their natural setting.
This Isn’t A Library: New, Notable Releases Into The Direct Market
*****
Here are the books that make an impression on me staring at this week's no-doubt largely accurate list of books shipping from Diamond Comic Distributors, Inc. to comic book and hobby shops across North America.
I might not buy all of the works listed here. I might not buy any. You never know. I'd sure look at the following, though.
*****
MAY171635 ALONE (G13) GN $25.00
I know very little about this massive Simon and Schuster book featuring the work of Christophe Chabouté, but its lengthy exploration of a man isolated on an islnd with a lighthouse certainly fits in with this year's spate of laconically paced long form works.
MAY171714 KAIJUMAX SEASON 3 #1 $3.99 MAY170050 GROO PLAY OF GODS #1 $3.99 MAY178007 DIVIDED STATES OF HYSTERIA #1 2ND PTG (MR) $3.99 APR170828 KILL OR BE KILLED #10 (MR) $3.99
I think I may be a full season behind on Zander Cannon's giant-monsters prison drama Kaijumax, but I know it's there waiting for me and Cannon is about as reliable and consistent as they come. Add three decades onto that appraisal and you have Sergio Aragones, whom I always buy and always will. There's the latest Chaykin; not sure if that will reignite the controversy or not. The first one is joining it as a reprint which means that it may be gaining a bit of momentum sales-wise. We'll see for sure in about two months. Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips on the revenge genre has given us some of the nicest-looking pages of Phillips' long career. This latest issue felt like the pause before the final rush, but that just may be the structurel
MAR170050 MANARA LIBRARY TP VOL 02 EL GAUCHO & OTHER STORIES (MR) $29.99
I don't always follow Manara, and in fact I don't know what I want of his in my permanent comics collection. I know I'll always take a look at new collections.
APR170433 PLANETARY TP BOOK 01 $29.99
Given the kinds of TV shows and movies we're getting these days this would seem like a series that should be in print without cessation. I liked the individual issues enough I wonder how it reads in trade. The writer Warren Ellis usually flatters collection in a way some of his same-age peers do not.
MAY171205 S**T AND P**S GN (MR) $10.00
The latest from Retrofit. It's a literal reference. I'm not familiar with Tyler Landry save for his Studygroup comics, but those have been promising.
APAR171786 WALT DISNEY UNCLE SCROOGE HC VOL 03 CROWN GENGHIS KHAN $29.99
I think this stuff is aces and perfect summer reading, although I suspect we're going through a phase where Barks ends up slightly diminished in terms of his overall reputation. I'm not sure I'd want to read a lot of these comics if I were just starting out now.
MAR172025 AIRSHIP ADV OF LITTLE NEMO HC $15.00
The thing that interests me most about this collection of, literally, airship adventures from Little Nemo is that it's done at a small size and resulting affordable price point. This is why comic shops rule: there's so much stuff you want to hold in your hands as you make the decision to buy or not.
MAY171601 GIL JORDAN TEN THOUSAND YEARS HELL HC (RES) $19.99
The re-appearance of this Kim Thompson favorite will put a smile on the faces of a lot of fans of the late publisher. Well, it put one on mine. That cartooning is beautiful and the stories are bouncy and amusing -- again, perfectly suited to hammock reading. The cartooning seems first rate.
*****
The full list of this week's releases, including some titles with multiple cover variations and a long, impressive list of toys and other stuff that isn't comics, can be found here. Despite this official list there's no guarantee a comic will show up in the stores as promised, or in all of the stores as opposed to just a few. Also, stores choose what they carry and don't carry so your shop may not carry a specific publication. There are a lot of comics out there.
To find your local comic book store, check this list; and for one I can personally recommend because I've shopped there, albeit a while back, try this.
The above titles are listed with their Diamond order code in the first field, which may assist you in finding comics at your shop or having them order something for you they don't have in-stock. Ordering through a direct market shop can be a frustrating experience, so if you have a direct line to something -- you know another shop has it, you know a bookstore has it -- I'd urge you to consider all of your options.
If I failed to list your comic, that's because I hate you.
Random Comics News Story Round-Up * Kyle Pinion on a number of DC's comics including Wonder Woman #25.
* that very good writer about comics Ken Parille writes an appreciation of the work made by Leslie Stein, a very good maker of comics.
* Ted Rall is unable to find a lawyer after his previous lawyers quit on his suit against the LA Times. If he doesn't get a continuance or find a lawyer willing to take on the case, he may represent himself in court.
Avoid it. You get better curation and access to way better sales every weekday at a site like BensBargains.com (they'll likely do a better job than Amazon at sorting through the PrimeDay deals), and if you're going to spend money on comics try your local comic shop or go to Amazon's used section where the money will likely go to a comics media professional or working pro that is dumping their freebies.
Also fuck made-up sort-of holiday sounding things, except when comics does it.
from Tom Gauld's great Mooncop, available for Primeday and from used booksellers at Abebooks for about the same price
* this sounds like a nice project. Comics has an uneven record with tribute projects but I think Bernie Wrightson might pull in a lot of interesting visual artists.
* I got a standard press email from Viz Media detailing some of their Anime Expo announcements, all of which I think received their own separate press release. Projects noted were Fullmetal Alchemist: Fullmetal Edition (May 2018) with new lettering and translations and better paper; Fire Punch (January 2018), a dystopian thriller; Sisyphean a science fiction work from Dempow Torishima; two books featuring the mobile game Neko Atsume (February 2018); and a romantic, gender-swap comedy called Kenka Bancho Otome: Girl Beats Boys (April 2018).
Random Comics News Story Round-Up * Philippe Leblanc on Citizen Justice.
* another missive on survivors from a war already lost: the Baltimore Sunhas announced plans to close what was at one time a giant in the independent weekly field, Baltimore's City Paper. That was once one of the bellwethers for success in syndication for alt-weekly strips. Derf takes note.
* not comics: Abraham Riesman's revised list of best superhero movies since Blade makes me think the writer takes in every stray cat and spends most of his brunches defending every band's dumbest album.
* The Beatshows off some of the art from the three-page comics Marvel will be using to explain their characters in forthcoming comics. When I was a kid I always liked reverse-engineering these complicated narratives, but I also liked throwing acorns at things and poking dead animals with a stick.
* not comics: watched the lego Batman movie the other night and shouldn't the character Forge in the X-Men comics be a lot more fun?
* finally, Giaco Furino profiles the Dandelion Wine Collective. That's a positive and illuminating read.
Clay Jones Turns Down Prize From Iran-Based Contest Here. The Virginia-based cartoonist cites both the group's previous support of a Holocaust cartoon contest and potential general Anti-Semitism, its country's recent history of suppressing cartoon speech, and Iran's general enemy status for the United States government. That Post piece has a bunch of quotes in it that could make up their own entire article, so it's a fun one to read while considering every point.
Go, Read: PW’s Article On Comic-Con Safety Here. It's a sober piece from Heidi MacDonald that focuses on three shows: the forthcoming Comic-Con International, the Phoenix show where in their last iteration a man carrying weapons was arrested, and NYCC. NYCC seems to have the most aggressive policies in place, including trackable badges and bag searches. All three shows work with their cosplay communities on what is appropriate. SDCC has unique challenges due to the spread-out nature of the overall experience including blocks of downtown where non-official events take place under the wider convention-weekend umbrella.
It's amazing to me that we haven't had a more severe and open expression of violence at one of these shows. I'm grateful for that, and maybe that means we can avoid this kind of thing altogether. There are certainly unpleasant incidents involving aggression both widely reported that don't quite fit the bill of someone pulling out a gun and shooting up the floor and/or that occur in a backstage sense that don't break into wider consciousness, incidents that take place at a number of shows. It's not necessarily a benign environment, even when nothing breaks out and into public perception. That context is something worth always keeping on the mind. There are so many elements of risk. For instance, I was discussing with a comics pro the other day how the diaspora of comics events at one convention we both attend put some tired and perhaps even naive tourists in a lot of different neighborhoods, some of which might not be friendly, some which might not. No show should feel responsible for events over which they have no control, but if harm is done it definitely becomes a thing with which the wider community will have to reckon. It's not something we thought about stepping over homeless people to attend warehouse parties in 1994, or heading to Tijuana, or taking the El downtown for dinner.
All of the shows I know are serious about their security, even if they might have different conceptions as to what this means -- particularly the role of community policing. Many general convention factors play into this, too. Conventions that are aligned with places that aren't convention centers may have the display of fake weapons displayed from the get go. San Diego has done a lot of work with its line and event management in a way it'd be much more surprising if they had a face-stabbing incident now over seats than it was when this happened. At the same time, I know many people feel that gunplay has become weirdly normalized in society at large as a choice for people without hope. One determined person could wreak havoc. It's hard to believe we'll ever reach a moment of zero percent risk.
What I hope is that we'll all be sympathetic to every convention's concerns and conform as best as we can to their ways of handling potential explosive violence, just as we continue to work to come up to speed on all the other negative outcomes of these sorts of gatherings. We should encourage every serious bit of attention being paid, and try to avoid it weighing against a maximal experience we're feel entitled to have. No one should be harmed because they want to be near the thing they love for 72 hours or so. The only damage that should come out of any of these weekends is to our wallets.
Comics By Request: People, Places In Need Of Funding By Tom Spurgeon
* the last time I looked at it on last Thursday, the Save Pepe crowd-funder had doubled up its initial ask. This is a very strange story, and I don't know how I'd react to all of this if it had happened to me.
* I would imagine this one featuring Mike Ploog and Simon Bisley has roared past its initial ask as well.
* the Sam Glanzman gofundme seems close enough to its initial ask I should mention it a few more time here. Glanzman is a veteran, one of the few surviving artists of the pre World War 2 era, a valuable contributor to the Silver Age of comics, a fine comics artist generally and I'm told a swell guy. Surely there's some money out there for his plight.
Random Comics News Story Round-Up * J. Caleb Mozzocco on Batman: Zero Hour.
* I can't vouch for this in any way and I will spend zero time vetting it so for all I know it's an easily identifiable practical joke, but I know there are a number of female comic writers and illustrators out there that might want to do that for themselves.
FFF Results Post #481—1980s Indy Round-Up
On Friday, CR readers were asked to "Name Five Genre Comics You Like Or Liked From The 1980s Not Produced By DC, Marvel Or Epic. Don't Repeat A Publisher." This is how they responded.
1. Flaming Carrot (Aardvark-Vanaheim)
2. Ninja High School (Antarctic)
3. Twilight Avenger (Eternity)
4. Judge Dredd (Eagle)
5. Megaton Man (Kitchen Sink)
*****
Scott Dunbier
1) Jonny Quest (Comico)
2) Wordsmith (Renegade Press)
3) V For Vendetta, in Warrior Magazine (Quality Communications)
4) Reid Fleming, World’s Toughest Milkman (Eclipse)
5) Love and Rockets (Fantagraphics)
*****
Tom Spurgeon
1. American Flagg! (First)
2. Dalgoda (Fantagraphics)
3. The Rocketeer (Pacific/Eclipse)
4. Grendel: Devil By The Deed (Comico)
5. Alien Fire (Kitchen Sink Press)
*****
Oliver Ristau
1. American Flagg!
2. Ms. Tree
3. ESPers
4. Nemesis The Warlock
5. Warrior
*****
John Parkin
1. Elementals (Comico)
2. Scout (Eclipse)
3. Usagi Yojimbo (Fantagraphics... and maybe Mirage? Not sure if the Mirage issues were in the 1980s or not)
4. Whisper (First)
5. Boris the Bear (Dark Horse)
*****
Steve Harrick
1. Rio (Eclipse)
2. Jonny Quest (Comico)
3. Ms. Tree (Aardvark-Vanaheim)
4. Elfquest (WaRP Graphics)
5. Journey (Fantagraphics)
*****
Mark Brodersen
1. I Saw It (Educomics)
2. Journey (Aardvark-Vanaheim)
3. Mister X (Vortex)
4. Lone Wolf and Cub (First)
5. Night Music (Eclipse)
Assembled, Zipped, Transferred And Downloaded: News From Digital By Tom Spurgeon
* a two-book deal for Check, Please! and its impressive cartoonist Ngozi Ukazu.
* Gabrielle Bell has begun her July diary. That's always a fun bunch of comics and as I recall the originals are usually made available to the buying public.
* happy 10th anniversary to Todd Klein's blogging efforts. I like Klein's blog because I feel like he's just processing 90 minutes or so of his standard workday for us a few times a week. Like this is the stuff that crosses his desk.
* finally, here's a list recommending webcomics that's a little different in that they're all completed (that's the premise; I didn't double-check!).
* Joel Pett writes about judging one of those international cartooning competitions that pop up the same way karate competitions are like 30 percent of what crosses your average sports editor's desk. The specific observations make the article worth reading, although I found myself distracted by the tone and the recurring joke of referring to America as America First -- which I'm guessing is something Pett has been doing for his readers for a while.
Latest For Zunar: Severe Obstacles To Lifting Travel Ban
The embattled Malaysian cartoonist Zunar received bad news on one of the fronts he's fighting for his personal freedom to express himself and to move freely in the world without government restriction. An unrelated case has been upheld in favor of the Malaysian government not only restricting movement but not even having to supply a reason for doing so.
Despite this reading, Zunar says he is confident that unrestricted travel is declared a fundamental right at multiple times within the constitution. He vows he will continue his legal press until all avenue are exhausted.
Zunar's hearing is currently schedule for September 25.
Bunches Of People Moving From/Starting On Comics Jobs
All apologies for not hitting more of these head-on as they've been announced. It's been a busy few weeks for key comics jobs, and I doubt the summer has finished with this kind of news. At the very least, there will be a new person doing the social media at Fantagraphics.
* David Scroggy retired from Dark Horse on July 3, according to an e-mail sent by Scroggy to a number of industry contacts. He'll consult with his former employer until the end of the summer. He was employed by Dark Horse for 23 years, and recently ran the team in Product Development. Chris Gaslin now leads that team. Scroggy will attend Comic-Con this year, where I hope he's thanked and lauded. He has always struck me as a person supportive of comics generally and comics people slightly more specifically, and I'll miss seeing him at certain events if/as retirement takes over.
* Milton Griepp reports at his ICv2.com site that Lion Forge recently promoted Andrea Colvin to Vice-President/Executive Editor. This replaces Mark Smylie, who goes to Contributing Edior. Colvin has most recently served as Senior Editor of the company's all-ages/young adult line. Colvin co-founded a kids imprint for the giant distributor/publisher Andrews McMeel in a previous position. Both Smylie and Colvin were brought into the company in 2016.
* I am several days late in announcing that TCAF founder Chris Butcher has left The Beguiling and will take on consulting editorship with Viz Media. He will continue to organize the festival, one of the the great comics shows in the world. The article reminds that Butcher has held a variety of positions in retail and in publishing, in addition to more general advocacy work as a blogger and a journalist. He will focus on new projects and acquisitions, and it's difficult to imagine such a position being better filed if you were allowed to create someone in a laboratory. I am excited as a comics reader to see what result, in addition to being happy for Butcher.
* finally, the show with which I work, Cartoon Crossroads Columbus, filled its Operations Manager position with Melody Lynn Reed. Reed has worked with Actors' Theatre of Columbus and with Crossroads United Methodist Church. She began work for the comics festival on July 1, where she will assume control over fundraising and show logistics. She is a Columbus, Ohio native.
Go, Read: Brandon Schatz On The Changing Comics Market & His Store’s Frustration With Marvel Comics Here. This isn't a lot different than some of the essays about "what's wrong with Marvel" that have been filling up the Internet for about four months now, but it's a decent snapshot of the frustration from a retailing point of view. It's remarkable to see how much the Edmonton-based retailer's frustration is focused on core approaches, namely Marvel's failure to make consistently good comics and sell them in a way that strengthens their partners' position with their customers.
The Never-Ending, Four-Color Festival: Shows And Events
By Tom Spurgeon
* Heidi MacDonald notes that Wizard may put on as many as 40 shows in 2018. I know their Columbus show plans for 2017 hold a lot more comics-related interest than what they offered in 2016: Jeff Smith, Noah Van Sciver and Colleen Doran are rumored among those setting up with that one. And Heidi's right in that Chicago is still a formidable show, definitely in the top dozen or so shows to which one should pay attention if you have an ecumenical view of the comics/festival world.
* Comic-Con will stay in San Diego through 2021, say the headlines. I think it's the best place for the show even in this era where that means they sacrifice a bit of their juice in terms of overall attendance to other shows. They get back more in terms of an exclusive experience, though. The show in general feels as healthy as ever, even as some of the big movie studios hold their summer have-to-be-there, stars-in-the-room panels elsewhere. I have a good time at San Diego and it fills a professional need, so I'll be there for sure through this contract, life events willing. I will always urge anyone with a comprehensive interest in comics to see it at least once.
* CCA begins its Comics In The City summer lecture city this Friday with Raina Telgemeier. Here's a general article. Go to the forthcoming events for individual listings each Friday this month.
* I read all the Secret Empire comics to date. Yeah, I know. One thing that's hard for me to understand is how the good guys are losing, let alone losing badly. The people aligned with Captain America all seem like fourth-rate losers of the kind he has routinely and all by himself beat up over the years. The good guys not taken off the board include people like Iron Man, the Thing, Hercules and at least one Hulk -- all of whom seem to me capable of defeating the entire bad-guy squad by themselves. It's like the Circus of Crime has taken over the country, or The Enforcers, except both of those groups are more fun. One of Jonathan Hickman's more significant talents displayed in mainstream comics was creating formidable opponents and obstacles for the Marvel Heroes, making this subsequent threat seem like even more weak sauce.
This Isn’t A Library: New, Notable Releases Into The Direct Market
*****
Here are the books that make an impression on me staring at this week's no-doubt largely accurate list of books shipping from Diamond Comic Distributors, Inc. to comic book and hobby shops across North America.
I might not buy all of the works listed here. I might not buy any. You never know. I'd sure look at the following, though.
*****
MAY171794 GOOD EARTH GN $26.99
High curiosity for this one -- Nick Bertozzi adapting the Pearl Buck novel for... you know, I have no idea why this exists. Bertozzi has some experience with the kind of restrained and steady approach I would imagine this needs, and the work itself is a deserved reputation-maker for the prose author with a cultural significance that extends beyond its pages.
MAR170056 ANGEL CATBIRD HC VOL 03 CATBIRD ROARS (C: 0-1-2) $14.99
I'd like a look at this comic -- the third of the Margaret Atwood books with Johnnie Christmas. The first one was super-hyped but was not what a lot of people expected. I liked that it seemed to have a focus that broke with more recent inquiries into the superhero genre.
NOV160079 BEANWORLD HC VOL 04 HOKA HOKA BURBL BURBL (C: 0-1-2) $16.99 MAR170060 GLISTER TP (C: 0-1-2) $14.99
Two volumes I'd like to buy, both of which I think are reprints. Update: Actually, I'm told the Beanworld is new -- so that's nice. Back To It: The first one is a series of books gathering up Larry Marder's Beanworld material, and the second is Andi Watson, a unique talent that has never quite found the audience he deserves.
AUG160639 JUPITERS LEGACY VOL 2 #5 (OF 5) CVR A QUITELY (MR) $4.99 APR170059 VISITOR HOW AND WHY HE STAYED #5 (OF 5) $3.99 MAY170706 ROCK CANDY MOUNTAIN #4 (MR) $3.99 MAY170719 SNOTGIRL #6 $2.99 MAR170786 SUN BAKERY #4 (MR) $4.99 MAY170730 WALKING DEAD #169 (MR) $2.99 MAY170735 WICKED & DIVINE #29 CVR A MCKELVIE & WILSON (MR) $3.99 MAY170860 BLACK BOLT #3 $3.99 MAY171272 GIANT DAYS #28 $3.99
Lots of interest in serial comics this week. The Mark Millar/Frank Quitely superhero story Jupiter's Legacy ends its second cycle. Since it started a few years back Millar has seemingly changed his approach from an epic pace to an almost proof of concept highlight reel. Quitely's art, of course is deeply weird and at times gorgeous; I like looking at it. I similarly find pleasure in staring at Paul Grist's pages, and this solid if unremarkable trip into the Hellboy universe was no exception. I hope they use him again. Rock Candy Mountain, Snotgirl and Sun Bakery are all comics aspects of which I've enjoyed but I haven't really read and should. Walking Dead and Wicked & Divine are comics of the moment on different ends of their time in the sun, although really Walking Dead could go on for a very long time. I still want to see him deal with the nuclear reactors thing; even that weird Last Man show has noted those start to go China Syndrome after a while. Black Bolt I list because I want to pick it up for my brother. It looks pretty as hell. Giant Days is John Allison and I always buy John Allison, although there's a "side project" feel to this work that won't go away.
APR171952 PLUM CRAZY TALES OF TIGER STRIPED CAT GN VOL 01 (C: 0-1-0) $11.99
This is straight-up mainstream-ready cat manga for all-ages, and it's about time we saw something like this on comics shelves. There probably has been something like this that I just haven't noticed.
APR170440 WONDER WOMAN BY GREG RUCKA TP VOL 02 $29.99 FEB170322 WONDER WOMAN THE GOLDEN AGE OMNIBUS HC VOL 02 $75.00
More Wonder Woman, which is likely welcome in this summer of Wonder Woman, where the film has become the return-to movie of this summer and will likely make a metric ton of box office before it's all done, even more than you'd think from the splash it made its first couple of week. I still don't know why DC didn't settle on a single volume to push, but they tend to know what they're doing with their book trade choices.
JAN171093 AVENGERS BY JONATHAN HICKMAN OMNIBUS HC VOL 01 $125.00
Jonathan Hickman intrigues me as a writer, and I embarrassed myself by sharing that with him at a recent show. His Marvel work shows his skills off to significant effect, albeit in service to event comics that always feel more market-compelled than natural outcomes of narrative. I also thought he never quite found the artist pairings he deserved. I'd rather have the individual issues, but I can imagine a life path where this would be the preferred format.
APR171436 GIANT DAYS NOT ON THE TEST EDITION HC VOL 01 (C: 0-1-2) $34.99 APR171517 VALERIAN GN VOL 16 HOSTAGE OF ULTRALUM (C: 0-1-1) $15.95 APR170834 MONSTRESS TP VOL 02 (MR) $16.99
More John Allison (with Lissa Treiman), the latest in the latest go at English-language Valerian/Laureline books and a trade from Image for a popular series that I think many are following in trade. All perfectly respectable summer choices for genre reading, although I imagine a large portion of CR's readership might skip all three.
MAR172140 ALTER EGO #147 (C: 0-1-1) $9.95
147. All respect.
FEB162027 BATTLING BEAUTIES ART OF FRANK THORNE HC (MR) $60.00
I really like Frank Thorne's art but I have to admit the attention to the female form is less up my alley than the textures of his work and the way he captures energy within single images. Although I'm not sure he works any longer (he'd have to be in his late '80s), I thought a lot of his straight-up porn work was hard to read but beautiful to drink in visually. I'd surely take a look at this in the store.
*****
The full list of this week's releases, including some titles with multiple cover variations and a long, impressive list of toys and other stuff that isn't comics, can be found here. Despite this official list there's no guarantee a comic will show up in the stores as promised, or in all of the stores as opposed to just a few. Also, stores choose what they carry and don't carry so your shop may not carry a specific publication. There are a lot of comics out there.
To find your local comic book store, check this list; and for one I can personally recommend because I've shopped there, albeit a while back, try this.
The above titles are listed with their Diamond order code in the first field, which may assist you in finding comics at your shop or having them order something for you they don't have in-stock. Ordering through a direct market shop can be a frustrating experience, so if you have a direct line to something -- you know another shop has it, you know a bookstore has it -- I'd urge you to consider all of your options.
If I failed to list your comic, that's because I hate you.
Random Comics News Story Round-Up * Rob Clough on Fire!!. Angela Boyle on How To Be An Elephant. The Comic Books Are Burning In Hell gang dig into Ganges. Brian Nicholson on Weird 6.
* not comics: Andrew Weiss remembers the magazine Dungeon. Magazines from thirty years ago devoted to narrative were a definite formative influence for the explosion of narrative-arts creation that we're dealing with now.
* Cecilia D'Anastasio provides an update on the once white-hot issue of scanlation, talking to scanlators trying to go legit and taking a snapshot of how that specific act dances in and out of the health of that market segment more generally.
* Augie De Blieck Jr. does close readings of certain comics pages and here takes on work from the Mark Waid/Mike Wieringo partnership on Fantastic Four, a well-remembered series run. Wieringo will have been dead 10 years this mid-August.
* Jordan Commandeur talks to the great Stan Sakai about his next work that encompasses the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle into his glorious life's work Usagi Yojimbo. I will buy every comic Stan Sakai ever makes.
* Steve Ekstrom talks to Howard Chaykin about the recent controversies caused by his latest series: a scene of trans panic in issue #1; a scene of torture released as the initial cover -- since changed -- for issue #4.
* not comics: Bully repurposes an old calendar with days and dates that match this year's. I wish someone would start a small business that made old calendar with match dates available to us. I would use them all the time. Just the Tolkien calendars doing this would be great, or the Love & Rockets ones.
* Paul Post profiles the great Joe Sinnott. My specific taste in comics may lead me away from a lot of the artists known for their work in the American mainstream, but there are many talented and honorable creators that work there.
* finally, a gift of underground comix-era art featuring female cartoonists has been accepted by the Billy Ireland. That's terrific. There is no group of cartoonists as underserved by their current reputation than the female underground-era cartoonists.
Comics By Request: People, Places In Need Of Funding This is sort of a holiday weekend, and certainly not the time of the year I spend a lot of time looking at crowd-funding sites. So let me re-establish a place in your head for three recent efforts that we've discussed here.
The first I'd like to revisit is that printmaker and verbal/visual artist Tony Fitzpatrick has been making posters where proceeds go to various big-name charities. The second recent crowd-funder that I think worth repeating is the gofundme for the hospice care of Sam Glanzman -- a veteran, fine comics artist and class individual all-around. The third and final thing I'll ask of you is to re-listen a call for aid in assisting Marc Arsenault, who is limited at work after his appendix went HR Giger on him.
I hope you'll consider all of these in the days ahead.
* I"m catching up with the Chaykin cover reaction and withdrawal tomorrow -- I'll hold a sparkler in one hand while I do it -- but I assume this take by Abhay Khosla stands at a left angle than most of what's been written and as such is worth reading.
* Chris Randle talks to Jillian Tamaki. The (not-comics) stop the presses moment: "Tamaki used to be in a punk band called Shebola with Anne Ishii and Chelsea Cardinal." Good Lord.
FFF Results Post #480—Places To Be, Places To See
On Friday, CR readers were asked to "Name Five Towns Or Bigger Places From The Comics That Don't Exist At All In The Real World -- Not A Different Version Of A Place, But An Actual Different Place."
1. Duckburg
2. Supertown
3. Smallville
4. The Habitat
5. Limbo Town (Klarion the Witch Boy)
*****
Mário Filipe
1. Palomar, Love and Rockets
2. Champignac, Spirou et Fantasio
3. Central City, The Spirit
4. Urbicande, La fièvre d'Urbicande
5. Jadencourt, La ville qui n'existait pas
*****
Tom Spurgeon
1. Nazilia, Thimble Theatre.
2. Metropolis, Superman-related comics.
3. Hicksville, Hicksville.
4. The Savage Land, Ka-Zar comics.
5. The City-State Of Iest, Cerebus.
*****
Katherine Collins
* The Kingdom of Myopia - King Aroo
* Lost Valley of Pal-Ul-Don - Tarzan
* Duckburg - Barks's Donald Duck
* Coconino County - Krazy Kat
* Oz - the Oz books
*****
Katherine Collins Part Two
* The Misty Isles - Prince Valiant
* Slumberland - Little Nemo
* Toonerville - Toonerville Trolley
* Dingburg - Zippy the Pinhead
* Riverdale - Archie
that's right, Katherine gets two
*****
Sean Rogers
1. Daltokyo, Jimbo
2. Moominvalley, Moomin
3. Slumberland, Little Nemo in Slumberland
4. Dominion, Clyde Fans
5. The Unifactor, Frank
1. unnamed city, Julius Corentin Acquefacques, prisonnier des reves
2. The Land of the Lost, Brick Bradford
3. Bangalla, The Phantom
4. Zahir, Valerian: World Without Stars
5. Hell, Hellboy
*****
Mike Pfefferkorn
1. Argo City, home of Supergirl
2. Slaughter Swamp, haunt of Solomon Grundy
3. Skartaris, home of the Warlord
4. Gorilla City, home of Gorilla Grodd
5. Sorrow's End, home of the Sun-Folk (Elfquest)
*****
Dave Knott
* Urbicand - Fever In Urbicand (Francois Schuiten is the master of this FFF topic)
* The Blue Area Of The Moon - Fantastic Four
* Duckburg - Donald Duck comics
* The Hole - Dorohedoro
* Genosha - X-Men comics
*****
Steve Harrick
1. Dogpatch, Li'l Abner
2. Crepe City, Henchgirl
3. Oa-Green Lantern-related comics
4. Vulture City, Vulture City Stories
5. Bangalla, The Phantom
*****
Andy Mansell
1. Opal City (Starman)
2. Myopia (King Aroo)
3. Destiny's Garden of Forking Ways (Sandman)
4. Opak-Re (Planetary)
5. The Blazing World (LoEG)
*****
Dan Morris
1. Duckberg, Carl Barks' Duck comics
2. Hicksville, Hicksville
3. Monster Island, various Fantastic Four comics
4. Palomar, Love and Rockets
5. Gotham City, Batman
*****
Marty Yohn
1. Lovecraft, Massachusetts - Locke & Key
2. Nanda Parbat - Deadman comics
3. Dogpatch, USA - Lil' Abner
4. Keystone City - The Flash
5. Opal City - Starman comics
1. Wakanda, Black Panther/Fantastic Four
2. Attilan, Inhumans/Fantastic Four
3. Slumberland, Little Nemo
4. Latveria, Dr. Doom/Fantastic Four
5. That nameless surreal desert, Krazy Kat
1. Radiant City, Mister X
2. Jadencourt, The Town That Didn't Exist
3. Celesteville, Babar The King
4. The subatomic world of K'ai, The Incredible Hulk
5. Skartaris, The Warlord
*****
Chris Duffy
1. Myopia -- from King Aroo comics by Jack Kent
2. Wakanda -- from Marvel comics, created by Jack Kirby and Stan Lee
3. Neopolis -- from Top Ten comics series, created by Zander Cannon and Alan Moore.
4. Gorilla City -- from DC comics, created by John Broome and Carmine Infantino
5. Goonia -- from Squirrel Cage comic strip by Gene Ahern
1. New Eden, Kane
2. Pacific City, Nocturnals
3. Paradise Island, Wonder Woman
4. Opal City, Starman
5. The Cursed Earth, Judge Dredd
*****
John Parkin
1. Latveria (Fantastic Four and other Marvel Comics)
2. Skartaris (DC's Warlord)
3. Astro City (Astro City)
4. Mega-City One (Judge Dredd)
5. Basin City, aka Sin City (Sin City)
*****
Mark Brodersen
* Cynosure, Grimjack
* Astro City, Astro City
* Mega-City One, Judge Dredd
* Riverdale, Archie Comics
* Deadside, Shadowman
*****
thanks to Mário Filipe for sending multiple images
I was going to round up some forthcoming comics news but the first thing I saw when I jumped on-line was news of 
* Robert Kirby on 
* Frank Young on 
* Todd Klein on 
* John Seven on 
MAY170382 TMNT USAGI YOJIMBO CVR A SAKAI $7.99
* John Seven on 
* there will be 
* Sean Gaffney on 
The AAEC through its board of directors issued a statement Wednesday about the recent firing of editorial cartoonist Nick Anderson by the Houston Chronicle. 
* Rob Clough on 
* Johanna Draper Carlson on 
* Paul O'Brien on 
MAY170589 MOONSTRUCK #1 $3.99
* Matthew Wells on 
By Tom Spurgeon
* Andy Oliver on 
* San Diego Con is a great week to consider a gift or two, whether you have some money freed up by not going. The 
* Sean Gaffney on 
* Todd Klein on 
* Rob Clough on 
MAY171714 KAIJUMAX SEASON 3 #1 $3.99
* Kyle Pinion on a number of DC's comics including 
* 
* Philippe Leblanc on 
It's amazing to me that we haven't had a more severe and open expression of violence at one of these shows. I'm grateful for that, and maybe that means we can avoid this kind of thing altogether. There are certainly unpleasant incidents involving aggression both widely reported that don't quite fit the bill of someone pulling out a gun and shooting up the floor and/or that occur in a backstage sense that don't break into wider consciousness, incidents that take place at a number of shows. It's not necessarily a benign environment, even when nothing breaks out and into public perception. That context is something worth always keeping on the mind. There are so many elements of risk. For instance, I was discussing with a comics pro the other day how the diaspora of comics events at one convention we both attend put some tired and perhaps even naive tourists in a lot of different neighborhoods, some of which might not be friendly, some which might not. No show should feel responsible for events over which they have no control, but if harm is done it definitely becomes a thing with which the wider community will have to reckon. It's not something we thought about stepping over homeless people to attend warehouse parties in 1994, or heading to Tijuana, or taking the El downtown for dinner.
* J. Caleb Mozzocco on 
* a 
* Rob Kirby on 
* Rob Clough on 
AUG160639 JUPITERS LEGACY VOL 2 #5 (OF 5) CVR A QUITELY (MR) $4.99
* Rob Clough on 
* PW 
* Todd Klein on 
This is sort of a holiday weekend, and certainly not the time of the year I spend a lot of time looking at crowd-funding sites. So let me re-establish a place in your head for three recent efforts that we've discussed here. 
* Sean Gaffney on 
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