Yale University Press Drops Mohammed Cartoons
Yale University Press, in their upcoming book The Cartoons That Shook the World, a book about the controversial 2005 Danish political cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed and the furor they created, has refused to include the actual cartoons themselves. The reason given was that they feared riots and violence from outraged parties and wished to avoid the death of innocent victims. Yale University Press’s statement on the subject is available here.
Sneak Peek at Longbox
Longbox, the upcoming digital comics platform for mobile devices, has put a video preview of their program online. The video, which clocks in at over five minutes, is exhaustive in detail and intriguing to those interested in the future of digital comics. The program bills itself as “the iTunes of digital comics”.
Stuck Rubber Baby Reissued
Howard Cruse’s award-winning graphic novel Stuck Rubber Baby, the story of a white man working for the black civil rights struggle in the 1960’s as he comes to terms with his own gayness, will be reissued in 2010 by DC/Vertigo. The new edition of the book will contain an introduction by Alison Bechdel, creator of Fun Home and Dykes to Watch Out For.
Felipe Smith Published in Japan
American mangaka Felipe Smith’s comic Peepo Choo has been published in Japan. He speaks to Meltdown Comics about it here.
X-Men: Misfits Manga Launch Party
Raina Telgemeier and Dave Roman, creators of Del Rey Manga's new X-Men manga X-Men: Misfits, will be the guests of honor at a launch party for the new book at the comic shop Rocketship, on August 28. The event will begin at 7 p.m. and will include a talk and a signing from the two creators. Rocketship is located at 208 Smith Street, Brooklyn, NY. The new series reimagines the X-Men saga as a shojo manga about what it is like to be the only girl mutant in a school fill of boys. Telgemeier will also be promoting the book at the upcoming Brooklyn Book Festival on September 13, at Brooklyn’s Borough Hall.
Fahrenheit 451 GN Launch Party
A launch party for the new graphic novel adaptation of Ray Bradbury’s classic story Fahrenheit 451 (Hill & Wang) will be held at Bergen Street Comics in Brooklyn, NY on August 29. The party’s guest of honor will be Fahrenheit 451 artist Tim Hamilton, and festivities will run from 7 p.m. until closing. Bergen Street Comics is located at 470 Bergen Street, Brooklyn, NY, and the night’s festivities will be open free to the general public.
New Orleans A.D. in New York Times
Josh Neufeld's highly anticipated graphic novel A.D.: New Orleans After Deluge, just out from Pantheon, a book about the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, has been reviewed favorably in the New York Times.
Urasawa's Monster Hits US TV
Viz Media has announced that the anime of Naoki Urasawa's Monster will air on American television starting this October 12 on the Syfy channel. Episodes will broadcast during Syfy's Ani-Monday programming block and then re-air on its sister channel Chiller, later in the week. Monster is a science fiction thriller about Kenzo Tenma, a doctor who is wrongly suspected of being a serial killer, when the actual killer is a former patient who he saved. Secret government experiments and conspiracies abound. Award-winning mangaka Naoki Urasawa is also known as the creator of the acclaimed manga 20th Century Boys and Pluto.
Spider-Woman Motion Comics Hits iTunes #1
Marvel's new Spider-Woman motion comic, Spider-Woman, Agent of S.W.O.R.D. #1, hit #1 in the iTunes Animated sales charts on August 19. Moreover, it was the second highest selling episode for the day out of all the television episodes, outselling thousands of episodes from shows airing on network and cable television, produced for budgets of millions. The comic was created by the Eisner-winning team of Brian Bendis and Alex Maleev and will eventually be adapted into a paper comic.
Casper the Friendly Ghost Returns
Popular Harvey Comics character Casper the Friendly Ghost will return in a new comic from Ardden Entertainment, entitled Casper and the Spectrals, in time for the 60th anniversary of the character's debut. The book will deal with Casper's adventures in the supernatural neighborhood Spookytown and also feature Wendy the Good Little Witch and young, non-evil devil Hot Stuff, both also Harvey characters. The Spectrals are not Casper's new rock band, but rather the book's term for supernatural beings. The book will be written by Todd Dezago (Perhapanauts, Sensational Spider-Man) with art by Pedro Delgado.
R. Crumb's Book of Genesis on Exhibit
Art from the underground comics legend R. Crumb's adaptation of the biblical Book of Genesis, The Book of Genesis Illustrated (Norton), will go on display at UCLA's Hammer Museum from October 24 - February 29. The exhibition will feature all 207 original illustrations, as well as the book's cover, title page and introduction. The Hammer Museum is located at 10899 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA.
Reading With Pictures Studies Kids and Comics
Reading With Pictures, a new non-profit organization working with Northwestern University and Diamond Comic Book Distributors to clinically study the effects of using comic books and graphic novels in the classroom, has just been profiled in The Graphic Classroom.
Surrogates Footage Hits Internet
New footage and behind the scenes interviews from Surrogates, the upcoming science fiction movie based on the Top Shelf comic of the same name, has just hit the internet and is available on the Top Shelf website. The movie is set in a world where people interact primarily through surrogate robots and stars Bruce Willis. It arrives in theaters September 25.
This Week @ Good Comics for Kids
This week School Library Journal’s blog Good Comics for Kids has reviews of Biker Girl and Rock and Roll Love, a review of Utahime: The Songstress, a review of Animal Academy: Hakobune Hakusho, the 8/19 listing of comics suitable for all ages, and two links round-up from Brigid Alverson — one about Maximum Ride, math manga and Twilight and the other about Archie, Scooby Doo and more.
