Bundled, Tossed, Untied And Stacked: A Publishing News Column

By Tom Spurgeon

* I don't have anything to say right this moment about DC's line-wide relaunch and same-day digital strategies. I certainly haven't seen anything that's made me second-guess in any way the severe skepticism I expressed here, here, here and here as to the final outcome. You can refresh this Yan Basque post to keep up with official title announcements, or read Sean T. Collins on what the first week or so of announcements told him about the overall initiative.

* that's not an advertisement for this latest effort, in case anyone wondered: it's an old one. Do you think The Atom hated superhero picture day? There was always pressure on him to do something a little odd, a little different for the camera.

* the hobby business news and analysis site ICv2.com has a smart write-up here on a Roger Langridge-written John Carter effort for Marvel, and where it fits into a surprisingly crowded field of similar efforts. I'd be thrilled if Langridge could find a home in the small but potent corner of Marvel that seems aimed squarely at the book market.

* did you see all those D+Q Fall 2011 covers yesterday? You can also download a digital copy of their catalog through a link at the top of that post.

* advance reading copies of Craig Thompson's Habibi have begun to show up in reviewer's mailboxes. That should be quite the event when it finally hits shelves.

* speaking of Thompson, it seems smart of Top Shelf to time their new Blankets hardcover and re-release of the mega-selling soft-cover for that same late Summer/early Fall time period. I suspect there are sales out there to be had: I know I've never owned a copy.

* missed it: Mick Martin has revived his "Extra Medium" column for Popdose. I'm not familiar with the column or the site, but I've enjoyed Martin's reviews when I've run across them elsewhere.

* here's a nice art book announcement from AdHouse for later this summer: Sterling Hundley's Blue Collar / White Collar.

* I believe this is a new cover for the third volume in the Prison Pit series.

* I did not know that Titan was publishing the Andrew Loomis instructional stuff.

* finally, 2000 AD has reached an agreement with dominant North American comics publisher Diamond to make that iconic publication available on a weekly basis rather than in a bundled version month-to-month. It's kind of mind-boggling that 2000 AD, one of the success stories of weekly print distribution in the history of comics, was not available that way for so long -- it gives this bit of news a kind of "well, that's the way it should be, really" flavor. I'm not sure it leads to even a mini-explosion of publications being sold for a number of reasons, including the overall health of the Direct Market system and the calcification of its long-established and very specific predilections. Still, I'm glad for all of the people this helps read that publication that have wanted to read that publication. Besides, general North American comics culture could use as many reliably satisfying ways of interacting with comics as the market can provide.

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