NY Comic Con: T-Minus 12 Hours

My surgery went well, and other than passing out on the way home, presumably from the combination of Valium and hunger -- head back, mouth open, wife yelling for help kind of passing out! -- I'm feeling pretty good now. Relatively speaking.My 9:30am appointment got pushed back to 11:15am, so my wife and I walked across town to the Javits Center to pick up my Press Pass and get the lay of the land. We couldn't get past security and on to the Convention Floor itself, but we got a good look at things from the entrance and I took…

Continue ReadingNY Comic Con: T-Minus 12 Hours

NY Comic Con: T-Minus 2 Days

I haven't been nearly as enthuastic about this year's NY Comic Con as I was about last year's, but that's primarily because last year's was so exhausting, my level of direct participation this year is drastically reduced, and I stupidly scheduled some minor surgery for tomorrow without realizing it was the day before the Con.Despite dragging my feet, my press registration has been secured (Thanks, Phoenix!) and as long as all goes smoothly tomorrow and I'm on my feet as expected by Friday, here's what I'm hoping to catch this weekend:FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 2310:30AM - 11:30AMKids Comics: The Category Waiting to…

Continue ReadingNY Comic Con: T-Minus 2 Days

On the Shelves: 2/21/07

Reading is fundamental. Read what you like; don't waste your time reading bad comics out of habit! My weekly look at select comic books being released Wednesday, 2/21/07. The full shipping list, as always, is available at ComicList. [NOTE: Not all of these titles will actually arrive in all stores. If your LCBS offers a pre-ordering service, be sure to take advantage of it. If not, find another one; or try Khepri.com or MidtownComics.com] PICK OF THE WEEK House of SugarDARK HORSE COMICS Conan #37, $2.99 I'm finally caught up on my post-Busiek Conan reading and am happy to see…

Continue ReadingOn the Shelves: 2/21/07

Marketing Monday: No-Brainer Marketing Efforts

Thanks to Adam Kubert, today's Marketing Monday column will be delayed until later this evening.* So far, we've looked at the five basic steps to developing a simple marketing plan and how they specifically relate to marketing comics. Last week, I put forth five specific marketing efforts, no-brainers that every aspiring publisher should be ready (and able) to implement in order to separate themselves from the hobbyists with a Previews solicitation, a blog, and idiotic message board posts** whining about the state of the industry and how stupid superhero comics fans are. (Oh, look! Another one. Sigh...) This week, we'll…

Continue ReadingMarketing Monday: No-Brainer Marketing Efforts

Comic Book Commentary v2.0 and Other Stuff

Random, somewhat connected thoughts on the site, traffic and future plans... ITEM: Ever since I got back on the blogging horse late last year, traffic has been on a steady upswing, which is very nice. January was our best month since our peak early last summer, and February is tracking quite nicely. Many, many thanks to Dirk Deppey in particular, who drives a ton of traffic here every time he posts a link on Journalista!. Thanks also to Johanna Draper Carlson, whose Blogs Worth Reading link sends a regular stream of traffic this way, too. ITEM: Speaking of Deppey, If…

Continue ReadingComic Book Commentary v2.0 and Other Stuff

More Fun With Civil War

Another Civil War parody in the mother-f***ing house, as Spencer Carnage makes with the funny, GYWO style!Why are these parodies all so much better than the story itself?NOTE: There's a giveaway tied to this, too, so click through, laugh your ass off, and then take a shot at winning a cool assortment of TPBs, including the first three volumes of Y: The Last Man.

Continue ReadingMore Fun With Civil War

More Uncle Sam & the Freedom Fighters, Please

Newsarama has an interview with Uncle Sam and the Freedom Fighters co-writers Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray that includes some commentary on the evolution of the mini-series from Grant Morrison's initial revamp of the characters -- with no credit given to Will Eisner, Lou Fine, Arthur Peddy, Paul Gustavson, Len Wein or Dick Dillin for the original creations -- to the story I've been enjoying far beyond my expectations when it was previewed in Brave New World.Justin Gray: It's interesting how the series has evolved behind the scenes. Two years ago we started working with a blueprint developed by Grant…

Continue ReadingMore Uncle Sam & the Freedom Fighters, Please