Asterios Polyp Wins Fourth Annual PWCW Critic's Poll

Once again, a graphic novel exemplifying comics' ability to uniquely treat the themes of literary fiction has topped PW Comics Week's annual critics poll. David Mazzucchelli's long-awaited Asterios Polyp got the most votes, with six.

2009: The year in Manga

2009 was not a good year. In fact, many people are calling it the worst year ever. But in 2009, manga finished out one of its best years yet. More sophisticated content founds its way to American readers—and by way of the Internet, no less.

Abrams Collects Woody Allen Comic Strip

Woody Allen may be most famous as an actor and director, but he also had an eight-year run as the star of his own syndicated newspaper comic strip, Inside Woody Allen, that ran from 1976 to 1984.

Children's Comics Reviews: 1/4/2010

Hope Larson's Mercury, Jake Parker's new Missile Mouse and a new offering from Toon Books highlight this month's graphic novels for younger readers.

Comics Reviews: 12/21/2009

Starred reveiws of books from Justin Green, Gahan Wilson and Larry Marder plus a new manga by
Jun Mochizuk and a new Hellblazer original graphic novel.

New Books from Old: Turning Classics into Comics

Graphic novel adaptations of classic and contemporary prose works have surged in the past few years as more publishers explore ways to create book-length comics that can be used to encourage literacy and can also function as legitimate works of art in their own right. The earliest comic adaptations of classic prose works were Classics Illustrated, started in 1941 by Albert Kanter.

Smith's Rasl Explores Science and Formats

Bone creator Jeff Smith's eagerly awaited new story Rasl hasn't just been an entertaining yarn, it's an experiment in exploring publishing formats for specific book markets. Smith is best known for Bone, his bestselling kid-oriented fantasy-work. But Rasl, about a scientist turned art thief who builds a device to travel to parallel universes, deals with more adult themes and topics, fusing noir, scientific ideas such as string theory, and Native American symbolism.

Starstruck Shines Brightly Once Again

The cult classic comic Starstruck—well ahead of its time when initially released in 1985—has found a new life at IDW. An SF series that spanned galaxies and influences, Starstruck began as a stage play before its initial publication in Heavy Metal Magazine, later finding homes at Marvel’s Epic imprint and Dark Horse.

December Comics Bestsellers

Books 3 and 4 of Jeff Kinney’s hyrid comics and prose Diary of a Wimpy Kid series take the top two spots followed by R. Crumb’s Book of Genesis. Next is comics Viz’s Vampire Knight and Harper and Tokyopop’s comics adaptation of the Warriors series. Naruto is #6, followed by Bloomsbury’s Logicomix and Yen Press’s manga adaptation of Maximum Ride volume 2.

Joe Sacco Returns to Palestine

In his new book, Footnotes in Gaza (Metropolitan Books), Joe Sacco returns to the Gaza Strip to look into the shrouded history surrounding two little known and brutally violent events—massacres of unarmed Palestinian refugees by Israeli troops in November 1956—that took place in the towns of Khan Younis and Rafah.

A New Brooklyn Comics (And Graphics) Show

Organized by Dan Nadel, publisher of indie comics publishing house PictureBox, and Gabe Fowler of comics shop, Desert Island, the Brooklyn Comics and Graphics Festival was a whirlwind of intense comics activity and relentless crowds of fans that jammed the exhibition space at Our Lady of Consolation Church in Williamsburg despite the miserable weather.

Lobo Rocks Out with Ian and Kieth

Though Scott Ian has enjoyed a career in the entertainment industry that’s spanned over 25 years, the longtime Anthrax guitarist, TV personality and poker pro had never managed to meld his lifelong obsession with comic books into his work. So when DC Comics approached him about writing a mini-series, he knew he had to jump at the opportunity.

Sex, Lies and Religion: A New Edition of 'Binky Brown Meets the Holy Virgin Mary'

Long considered a classic of the 1960s underground comics era, as well as a progenitor of a wave of imaginative autobiographical comics works to come in the 1980s, Justin Green’s Binky Brown Meets the Holy Virgin Mary, is being reprinted in an oversized hardcover edition by McSweeney’s Books this month.

The Image-Makers Reunite

The founders of Image—Erik Larsen, Jim Lee, Rob Liefeld, Todd McFarlane, Whilce Portacio, Marc Silvestri and Jim Valentino—have reunited and teamed with writer Robert Kirkman for an all-star mini-series that brings the larger than life characters of Image's early days back to the page.

Ted Rall’s The Year of Loving Dangerously

Remember the 80’s? The legwarmers and the feathered hair and the cheesy guys named Chad? Remember Ronald Reagan and Bernie Goetz and the very first hints of the AIDS epidemic? Well, Ted Rall does and, along with artist Pablo Callejo, he’s wrapped it all up into a gorgeous whirlwind of a memoir.

Comics Briefly

Comics Reviews: 11/30/09

Jim Rugg's nostalgis satire, Afrodisiac, a new graphic novel by the artist of Air and comics adpatations of the works of Louisa May Alcoot are in this week's reviews.

Panel Mania: Shutter Island

Shutter Island, an adaptation of the novel by Dennis Lehane, follows two U.S. Marshals who are sent to the island in search of a mass murderer who has escaped from a hospital. First published in France, and illustrated by Christian De Metter, the book will be released by Tokyopop on January 5th, timed to tie-in with the upcoming movie adaptation directed by Martin Scorsese and staring Leonardo DiCaprio.

Yen Press Cites Adaptations; Plans Kids Comics and More

Back in 2007, when Yen Press, Hachette’s manga, manhwa and conventional graphic novel imprint, was first starting out, publishing director Kurt Hassler predicted that graphic novel adaptations were going to be the next big trend for manga publishing in the U.S. So far he's been right.

Davis’s ‘Secret Science Alliance’ Appeals to All Ages

Eleanor Davis’s The Secret Science Alliance and the Copycat Crook, a delightful mystery in which three science-loving kids band together to solve a crime, is attracting attention from readers of all ages.