Graphic Poetry: The Poem as Comic Strip
Talk about when two worlds collide?!! (via The Comics Reporter) The Poem as Comic StripGraphic novelists let loose in our archive. Heightened language–one possible or partial definition of poetry–isn’t the first thing one associates with comics. Yet comic book artists take into account the way words appear on the page to a degree poets will
For Black History Month: Flashback
I have a love-hate relationship with Black History Month, simultaneously appreciating the thought behind it while despising its continued necessity. As such, I’m not planning to make a big deal about it ’round these parts; it’s a thing for less diverse sites and blogs to take note of, an opportunity to pay lip service to
Let’s Stop Blaming Retailers, and Start Blaming Publishers
This started out as a quick comment over at The Beat, in reference to someone blaming retailers for dim road ahead for the recently canceled The Boys series, post-DC, because retailers will order less copies from the eventual new publisher thanks to the likelihood of lower discounts than they receive from DC. It’s a knee-jerk
On The Shelves: 1/31/07
Reading is fundamental. Don’t waste your time reading bad comics out of habit! My weekly look at select comic books being released Wednesday, 1/31/07. 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
Marketing Monday: First Things First
Among the myriad challenges comics publishers of all sizes face, one of the biggest — and most frustrating, personally — is marketing. Way too many publishers believe that marketing is little more than sending out badly written press releases and snagging previews, reviews and interviews from Wizard, Newsarama, Comic Book Resources, et al. While some
Blogaround Challenge 2007 Update
…and the Massive Archaia, Viper & Spider-Man Giveaway! 3 Prize Packs, 33 comic books…FREE SHIPPING!!! On your own blog, in a post titled “Blogaround Challenge 2007”, write a brief review of three blogs that are not currently on your personal blogroll. Mine the blogrolls of your favorite blogs, Google’s Blog Search, the Watchtower, or the
Free Comic Book Day 2007
This year’s Free Comic Book Day is on Saturday, May 5 — the same weekend Spider-Man 3 opens — and the list of comics that will be available is pretty impressive. My initial thoughts on some of them: Archie Comics (Gold): Archie Comics Little Archie 2007 Archie Comics (Silver): Sonic the Hedgehog 2007 My son
Suburban Dysfunction & Blaxploitation
Ghost World By Daniel Clowes (Fantagraphics Books, 1998; $11.95) I skipped the movie version of Ghost World when it came out because I could tell from the previews that it wasn’t my cup of tea; stories of suburban angst make my skin crawl (ie: I hated American Beauty), suburban teenage angst even more so. But,
On The Shelves: 1/24/07
Reading is fundamental. Don’t waste your time reading bad comics out of habit! My weekly look at select comic books being released Wednesday, 1/24/07. 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
Amazon POD Update: Raves for Sale!
Last month I posted a brief item about Amazon’s Print-on-Demand services, offered in partnership with BookSurge, suggesting it might be “worthy of consideration for potential self- and micro-publishers.” On Friday, Slate posted an interesting article entitled “Raves For Sale” that reveals one of the options available to its customers is “a personally crafted review written