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Red 5 Hits with iPhone App
With digital downloads of comics for various desktop and handheld devices getting more and more attention, several comics publishers are getting additional sales through iPhone downloads. One of the surprise success stories has been Red 5.
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Brian Fies Looks Back at the Future
There was a time when the future was something to look forward to. That’s the spirit Brian Fies captures in his graphic novel, Whatever Happened to the World of Tomorrow? , published this month by Abrams. “It really stems from a joke—‘It’s the 21st century. Where is my flying car and jet pack?’—and looking back and turning over the question in my mind—what did happen to the fun stuff?” Fies said.
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Otakon ‘09: Good Attendance and Sales; Some Complaints
The unofficial registration for this year's Otakon, an annual anime and manga convention held July 17-19 at the Baltimore Convention Center, was 26, 350, up slightly from last years attendance of 26, 262. Although fans showed up in force (and in costume) and vendors generally seemed pleased with sales, there were complaints about the organization of Artists Alley and the programming—including one anime panel that was abruptly halted for inappropriate content.
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Comics Briefly
Yen Press Plans Twilight Manga; Rand’s Anthem to be Graphic Novel; Penguin Grabs Sex Is Fun; Spider-Man party at Hanley's; Mouse Guard RPG Nominated; Stan Lee's Time Jumper Premier; Taymor on Spider-Man Musical; SDCC 09: Papercutz, CBLDF, G4; and This Week @ Good Comics for Kids
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Relationships and Preconceptions: Fumi Yoshinaga’s Ooku
The Ooku is the area of Edo Castle, the legendary ancient Japanese military capital, where the Shogun’s wife, concubines and female relatives lived during Japan’s Edo period (1603-1868). In Fumi Yoshinaga’s new alternate history manga Ooku: The Inner Chambers, the Ooku is instead the residence of the Shogun’s husband and concubines, for in this Japan, the women rule.
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The Stand Graphic Novel Finally Comes to Bookstores
Marvel Comics and Random House’s Doubleday Broadway Publishing Group have reached an agreement to allow The Stand: Captain Trips, the hardcover graphic novel adaptation of Stephen King’s The Stand, to be distributed in the general bookstore market beginning in January 2010.
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Asterios Polyp: A Tour De Force of Imagination and Drawing
One of the most talented comics artists of this generation, David Mazzucchelli first came to prominence as a superhero artist before moving on to make his reputation as a cartoonist of rare literary nuance and significance. This month Pantheon is publishing Asterios Polyp, Mazzucchelli’s first original graphic novel and a book about which not much has been revealed over the ten years or so that he’s been working on it.
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The First Asian American Comicon Is a Cool Success
The first Asian American Comicon opened its doors at the newly built Museum of Chinese in America (MOCA) in downtown New York City to a long line of attendees. The space, designed by Maya Lin, architect of the Vietnam War Memorial in Washington D.C., quickly filled up well beyond its capacity. More than 500 people visited the museum for the show. Many came specifically to meet guest of honor Larry Hama, who has penned Marvel's G.I. Joe series for the past 20 years.
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Funnies Business: Quantifying Library Penetration for Graphic Novels
Did you ever wonder how many copies a graphic novel could sell in the library system? Figuring out what a graphic novel could do is a bit of a puzzle. Libraries are an up and coming market for graphic novels (or “graphic fiction” or reprint collections; go ahead and pick your terms of choice).
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Comics Briefly
Mazzucchelli, Nadel Public Conversation; Viz Adds Shonen Manga Line; San Diego Comic-Con Events; IDW Debuts Yoe! Books Imprint; Jeff Smith at C2E2 and ALA; S&S To Distribute Boom! Studios; Rusty Haller Benefit Auction; John Ostrander Fundraiser; Vietnam Journal Returns to Print; Nana Anime on iTunes; and This Week @ Good Comics for Kids
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S&S Takes Over BOOM! Studios Distribution
Graphic novel publisher BOOM! Studios has a new distributor. Starting today, Simon & Schuster will handle sales, distribution and fulfillment for all new and backlist titles to trade and specialty accounts in the U.S. BOOM! was previously distributed by Perseus.
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Panel Mania: Soul Eater
Set in a school for Shinigami, Soul Eater by Atsushi Ohkubo follows Maka, a scythemeister in training who must perfect her living weapon and partner, Soul Eater, by consuming 99 human souls and one witch soul. Soul Eater Vol. 1 will be released by Yen Press in October 2009.
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Another Juicy Murder Story from Rick Geary
Looking to build on his success in researching the details of sensational period-era murders, NBM will release Famous Players: The Mysterious Death of William Desmond Taylor, Rick Geary’s latest investigation into a historical murder mystery, in September. The eighty-page hardcover volume will have an initial print run of 10,000 and is Geary’s second contribution to the Treasury of XXth Century Murder.
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The Man Behind Wednesday Comics
Mark Chiarello, the DC Comics editor behind the art series Solo, is launching one of the most ambitious and unconventional forays into superhero comics with Wednesday Comics, which debuts this week. The 12-issue weekly series features one-page stories by some of the top creators in comics on 20-by-14-inch newsprint pages.
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Naval Academy Hopes Comic Will Attract Minorities
The Naval Academy has published a free comic book aimed at attracting minority kids to the service academy. Entitled, Bravo Zulu, the Navy’s codeword for “good job,” the comic follows the lives of five unnamed ‘plebes,’ or Academy freshmen, as they deal with life at the Naval Academy.
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Asian American Comicon Debuts in New York
The first annual Asian American Comicon will be held on Saturday July 11 at the Museum of Chinese in America in New York City. Organized by Jeff Yang, editor of the New Press’s anthology of Asian-American superhero stories, Secret Identities, the AACC is intended to “recognize and celebrate what Asians are doing in comics. ”
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Comics Briefly
One Piece Accelerated; Anime Expo 2009 Coverage; Iranian Protests Marked in Persepolis 2.0; Robot Chicken Tour; Female Force Graphic Novel; Straczynski’s Thor Gets Giant Sendoff; Yui Makino is GOH at NYAF; Frazetta Rights Letter Retracted; and This Week @ Good Comics for Kids
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July Comics Bestsellers
Jeff Kinney’s runaway bestseller Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Last Straw remains top dog of the list, followed by Alan Moore’s League of Extraordinary Gentlemen; Joss Whedon’s Buffy: Time of Your Life; Akihisa Ikeda’s Rosario + Vampire and lots of Naruto.
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Life in Comics: Tips for Aspiring Comics Pros at Comic-Con
Comic-Con International in San Diego is less than a month away, and I as I mentioned in my last column, publishers are busy preparing for the big show. But comic book creators seeking to break into the industry should be preparing as well. If you're planning on going to Comic-Con to meet publishers, I have a single piece of advice for you: Do your research first.
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Panel Mania: The Summit of the Gods
The Summit of the Gods by Yumemakura and Jiro Taniguchi, author of The Walking Man, is the story of a Japanese expedition photographer, Makoto Fukamachi. This is the first volume in a series of five volumes about conquering Mount Everest. The Summit of the Gods Vol. 1 will be released in July 2009 by Fanfare/ Ponent Mon.
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