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
On the Shelves: 12/20/06
Reading is fundamental. Don’t waste your time reading bad comics out of habit! My weekly, semi-informed look at select comic books being released Wednesday, 12/20/06 follows. The full shipping is list 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
Crystal Ball: March 2007 Solicitations, Part I
Support GOOD Comics! Pre-order something new EVERY month. My monthly look at select comic books being solicited for release by the major direct market publishers in March 2007. Independent publishers will follow in a separate post. Links to full solicitations from almost every publisher can be found at MillarWorld. [NOTE: Not all of these titles
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
CBC Quickees: Manifest Destiny, Girls and Squirrels
Cowboys & Aliens By Fred Van Lente, Andrew Foley, Dennis Calero, Luciano Lima, Magic Eye Studios, et al (Platinum Studios, 2006; $4.99) What if an alien invasion of North America in 1873 interrupted the European settlers’ westward expansion of the United States, forcing them to band together with the native Americans they had ruthlessly displaced
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
Iron Editor: Brevoort vs. Alonso
Marvel Executive Editor Tom Brevoort (who oversees New Avengers, Civil War, and Fantastic Four, among others) offers a peek into his editing process that the cynical observer might parse as an explanation of the delays behind Civil War, among other things: Different editors work in different ways, in terms of how they approach the actual
On The Shelves: 12/13/06
Reading is fundamental. Don’t waste your time reading bad comics out of habit! My weekly, semi-informed look at select comic books being released Wednesday, 12/13/06 follows. The full shipping is list 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
Delays Ahead for newuniversal?
Newsarama’s interview with newuniversal artist Salvador Larroca suggests it might be yet another high-profile series Marvel is unable to ship on time: NRAMA: Could you tell us what was your first impression when you read newuniversal script? SLR: I loved it. It was water clear that Warren Ellis would write a solid script, but I
On the Shelves: 12/6/06
Reading is fundamental. Don’t waste your time reading bad comics out of habit! My weekly, semi-informed look at select comic books being released Wednesday, 12/6/06 follows. The full shipping is list 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