Marvel: Leaving Money on the Table
Comic Book Resources’ review of 2006 has been made fun of by several bloggers for its participants lauding of Civil War as “the one project that had the biggest impact on the comics industry” — which is arguably true, if for all the wrong reasons — but I found this particular exchange much more interesting:
Much Ado About Cowboys & Aliens
I knew a lot of people in the comics industry didn’t like Platinum Comics’ Scott Rosenberg, but holy cow! Comics writer A. David Lewis (the excellent The Lone and Level Sands) absolutely flipped his lid last Friday upon seeing Entertainment Weekly‘s sporadic comics sales chart showing Cowboys & Aliens in the top spot, according to
DC in 2006: Success or Failure?
Marc-Oliver Frisch’s always enlightening sales analysis for November is up at The Beat, and includes a sobering take on how 2006 played out for the Distinguished Competition: Although quite a number of DC titles have been unable to hold on to their audiences and taking nose-dives down the chart lately, the publisher’s November output profited
Charlie Foxtrot Entertainment
A number of new comics publishers have targeted specific niches over the years, seeking to better serve and/or exploit untapped audiences in an effort to carve out a viable niche for themselves. Whether its minorities, women, GLBT, pre-teens, etc., it’s a topic I’ve covered specifically or peripherally several times in the past, so this latest
Two Cents: Lightning Round
We’re heading down to Virginia for the holidays and I’m planning to post a bunch of TPB reviews throughout next week — in between catching up on sleep and movies — including Stagger Lee; American Born Chinese; Opening Lines, Pinky Probes, and L-Bombs, and a few others. Oh, and I haven’t forgotten about the holiday
Indie Bookstores Bailing Out; Bad Sign for Comics?
[UPDATED: 9:55 pm] PW Daily has a sobering article about several independent bookstores shutting their doors thanks to increased expenses and competition, and I can’t help but think about how it parallels the current state of the comic book industry, both on the publishing and retailing side, and how it could potentially affect graphic novel
Time’s Person of the Year: Me!
Well, okay, all of us, actually, and I couldn’t agree more. The “Great Man” theory of history is usually attributed to the Scottish philosopher Thomas Carlyle, who wrote that “the history of the world is but the biography of great men.” He believed that it is the few, the powerful and the famous who shape
Shadowline Slimline Offer Less for More
With the publication of Fell, Warren Ellis started a mini-trend with what Image has now branded as their Slimline format: 24 pages @ $1.99. Fell has been very good, and a solid success story from a sales perspective, while Casanova has been a critical darling with respectable sales for an Image Central title without a
Rocketo Love from Junot Diaz
Today’s N.Y. Daily News, in their monthly Viva New York pullout section, included a feature called “Authors Pick Their Favorite Reads of 2006”, wherein Junot Diaz (of the critically acclaimed collection of short stories, Drown), gave Rocketo a shout-out: “A comic book of extraordinary power, with a Cuban hero, written by a Cuban writer. I’ve
BORP! — Bumperboy Update
It’s been a while between Bumperboy updates here at CBC, but Debbie Huey just posted a sneak peek at the upcoming Bumperboy.net redesign and it looks pretty sweet. Huey is not only a talented creator, but a savvy marketer and merchandiser, and Bumperboy.net is the perfect example of a comics web site done right. Hopefully