New Books, New Deals at Archaia

Archaia Entertainment, in L.A., has come a long way in a short time. Originally launched in 2002 to self-publish founder/artist Mark Smylie's graphic novel/role playing game, Artesia, Archaia has used a mix of original hardcover and periodical comics, foreign licensing, and media co-development deals to grow from an ambitious artist's dream to become a significant entertainment media presence.

Action Fans are Winners with The Losers

Take all of the extraordinary things that make comic books so popular, ball them together and stuff them through a reality check. What you'd be left with is a book that read more like an action script than a super hero comic. What you'd be left with is The Losers - yet another comics-to-movies success story.

Comics Briefly

Footnotes In Gaza Wins Ridenhour Book Prize; Dash Shaw; NeoIntegrity at MoCCA; Manga Creators Protest Tokyo Obscenity Bill; New Batman from Neal Adams?; Hotwire and R. Sikoryak's Carousel; Gaiman's Neverwhere Comes to Stage; This Week @ Good Comics For Kids; and This Week @ The Beat

The Return of Alison Dare

Alison Dare is back! A series of funny, kid-friendly tales of a feisty little girl who is the daughter of an archaeologist and a superhero, the Alison Dare comics first came out in 2000 from Oni Press and were very well received, even garnering a nomination for an Eisner Award.

Found in Translation: Tsukasa Hojo's Cat's Eye and Toshiaki Iwashiro's Psyren

There's a category of untranslated manga that I think of as the ‘inexcusables.' These are manga that, by all measures, could have been tremendously successful franchises had they been localized, yet mysteriously, never were.

New Books, New Deals at Archaia Entertainment

Originally launched in 2002 to self-publish founder/artist Mark Smylie's graphic novel/role playing game, Artesia, Archaia Entertainment has used a mix of original hardcover and periodical comics, foreign licensing and media co-development deals to grow from an ambitious artist's dream to become a significant entertainment media presence.

Comics Briefly: 5/18/10

2010 Glyph Award Winners; Little Orphan Annie Cancelled; Wallace and Gromit Comic Strip Debuts; Paul Levitz Comes to Midtown Comics; Todd MacFarlane Visits Book Expo America; This Week @ Good Comics For Kids; This Week @ The Beat

Here Comes C2E2: Reed Exhibitions Goes Pop

When it comes to pop culture events Lance Fensterman, show manager of Reed Exhibitions' New York Comic Con and the inaugural Chicago Comic and Entertainment Expo, or C2E2, must be tempted to ask "What recession?" Reed Exhibitions is not only launching a new comics convention in the midst of a recession but also manages a group of pop culture consumer shows that are some of the fastest growing conventions at the company.

Emerald City Comicon Booms

Driven by a top-notch list of comics guests and a strong selection of
media guests, the eighth Emerald City Comicon in Seattle saw Saturday
attendance grow 40% from last year. Organizer Jim Demonaokos said that
about 13,000 people had attended both days in 2009—in 2010 Saturday
alone saw 11,000 people buy tickets.

Comics Briefly

X-Diary Manwha to Become American Film: Comic Book Literacy Premieres at C2E2; Bahadur, India's First Superhero, Returns; Last Gasp 40th Anniversary Art Show; Chaykin's Black Kiss #1 Free Online; This Week @ Good Comics For Kids; and This Week @ The Beat

Defective Article Here Comes C2E2—Reed Exhibitions Goes Pop

Reed Exhibitions is not only launching a new comics convention in the midst of a recession but also manages a group of pop culture consumer shows that are some of the fastest growing conventions at the company.

Abrams to Publish Deluxe Hardcover of Archie Marries

Abrams ComicsArts is teaming with Archie Comics to publish Archie Marries, a special deluxe hardcover collection of the Archie mini-series focused on which of Archie's longtime female interests-beautiful heiress Veronica Lodge or Betty Cooper, the cute girl next door-will land Riverdale's famous redheaded teenager.

Fantagraphics Steps into Manga Publishing

Indie comics publisher Fantagraphics Books is the latest comics house to add manga publishing to its list. The Seattle-based company known for such artists as the Hernandez Bros, creators of the acclaimed Love and Rockets series, and for historical collections like The Complete Peanuts, will roll out a new manga line starting in September.

Comics Retailers Adapt to a Tough Economy; Look Ahead to Better Times

Once again, PW Comics Week talked with comics retailers from around the county—six direct market comics shops and two general bookstores—in our annual informal phone survey about the state of the comics and graphic novel marketplace.

test

test

Amazon.com Removes Buy Buttons from Diamond's Publishers

In what is apparently an effort to correct the glitch that caused the wild discounting of graphic novels on Amazon.com, the online retailer has been forced to remove the buy buttons from all comics publishers distributed by Diamond Comics Distributors.

Comics Briefly: 3/9/2010

Life in Comics: Why San Diego Might Not Love Comic-Con

A couple of years ago, on the way to the San Diego airport, the taxi driver asked me and my co-workers if we had been in town for Comic-Con. Yes, we said, we were working. He asked how it was, and we gave the usual "fun but tiring" answer, adding that we were relieved it was over.

Amazon, Diamond Deal with Aftermath of Computer Pricing Snafu

Amazon.com’s Top 100 Book List returned to reality—Kathryn Sockett’s novel The Help was back on top; the Wolverine Ominbus was gone—after a data snafu offered hundreds of graphic novel titles at eye-popping discounts.

New look for Del Rey's Ben 10 and Bakugan Graphic Novels

While Del Rey manga is popular with serious manga fans, their top three sellers in bookstores, according to the 2009 BookScan data, were two series most manga fans probably never picked up—adaptations of Cartoon Network's Ben 10 and Bakugan animated cartoons. These three slim volumes (two of Bakugan and one of Ben 10) sold over 50,000 copies combined last year.