Tom Brevoort @ Marvel almost gets a copy of Fantastic Four #1
Or he gets an almost copy of Fantastic Four #1– oh, just take a look:
The Mix : What are people talking about today?
Grant Morrison’s proposal for Silver Surfer
Admit it– you could see him coming up with something like this, couldn’t you?
From FastCompany via The Mogg Blogg.
Kids spending 63% more time online than five years ago
Adding a contradictory point to the previous post about Wednesday Comics, here’s a tidbit to consider: US kids aged 2-11 are spending +63% more time online over the last five years, according to a new Nielsen report, from about 7 hours in May 2004 to 11+ hours online in May 2009.
In May 2009, kids 2-11 comprised 16 million, or 9.5% of the online universe (a fairly split evenly between boys and girls). This is an increase over 2004, with the number of K2-11 online growing +18%. K2-11 are also outpacing the increase for the overall population, which was up by 36% over the last five years. Boys are spending 7% more time online than girls, but girls are taking in more content, viewing 9% more web pages than boys in May 2009. Meanwhile, in May 2009, boys led in viewing and time spent, consuming 61% of video streams among kids and comprising 57% of the time spent viewing videos.
So with this new growth, combined with the collapse of the newsstand market, if you want to reach that new, upcoming audience and hook them on reading comics, where should you be…?
(Hat tip: Cynopsis. And a virtual nickel to the first person who can identify the picture.)
Why ‘Wednesday Comics’ is a big thing, literally
I have a big computer monitor. It’s probably bigger than yours. I know, I know, I probably shouldn’t bring size into it, but it’s true. And when it’s standing upright, it’s even bigger. Almost 18 inches standing up.
Yeah, sure, you say, quit bragging. And yet, it’s so nice. In fact, it’s got well over 350% of the area of a standard comic book page. Take a look to the right, where I compare it to a regular comic and the oversized books DC did a few years back.
And I really feel it when I read a comic book on a computer screen. Particularly the naughty kind. No, not the ones with panty shots of Supergirl, you pervert, I mean the naughty kind that you don’t pay for, but should have. The downloaded ones.
When I read those onscreen, they’re almost double the size of a regular printed comic. It’s great.
But now, here comes Wednesday Comics. And it’s really big– it might even be bigger than the area on my monitor; but even if it’s just close, the paper version will have better resolution. And the work is designed for the big area that they have.
DC is designing for the comic book equivalent of the IMAX screen– an experience that you can’t get from the bootleg version. Heck, even the previews they’ve made available don’t fit on most screens.
And that’s brilliant. They’re trying to make comics an event again, one that you can only fully get in paper– delivering a better experience and fighting back against the scanners (who weren’t going to be happy with the oversize pages in any event). Small wonder USA Today has picked it up.
Kudos to DC for the grand experiment, and for bucking the trend.
Announcing our name change to ‘ComycMyx’
And from now on, our slogan is going to be “Pretend Harder“.
Seriously retro art posters
Okay, the Invaders are already retro, but you know what I mean.
This, and much much more, is the work of Tom Whelan. You can see many more examples up at his DeviantArt gallery.
(Hat tip: Allan Lamberti.)
The Inkwell Awards 2009
The 2009 Inkwell Awards have come out, highlighting the art form that arguably is the most quintessentially comics.
FAVORITE INKER (favorite inker over another’s comic book pencil art from ‘08 material)
Wade Von Grawbadger (Ultimate Spider-Man) winner
Mark Morales (Thor, Secret Invasion) runner-up
MOST ADAPTABLE (showing exceptional ink style versatility over other comic book pencil artists in ‘08)
Tim Townsend (Amazing Spiderman) winner
Danny Miki (Incredible Hercules, Ultimate annuals) runner-up
PROPS AWARD (inker over others comic book pencil art deserving of more attention from ‘08)
Matt Ryan (Ms. Marvel, Wonder Woman) winner
Stefano Gaudiano (The Immortal Iron Fist, Daredevil) co-runner-up
Steve Leialoha (Fables) co-runner-up
THE SPAMI (favourite Small Press And Mainstream-Independent: ‘08
comic book cover-dated ink work over another pencil artist (Non-Marvel
or DC work))
Tim Townsend (Witchblade) winner
Tom Van Zandt (Unhappy Gran’ma) runner-up
ALL IN ONE AWARD (Favourite artist known for almost-exclusively
inking his/her own comic book pencil work and rarely the work of others
in ‘08)
Mike Mignola (Hellboy: In the Chapel of Moloch) winner
Simone Bianchi (Astonishing X-Men) runner-up
THE JOE SINNOTT AWARD (a hall of fame designation for an inking
career of outstanding accomplishment (lifetime achievement, 15-years
minimum- not limited to ‘08 comic book material)- two winners chosen
annually)
Terry Austin (winner)
Dick Giordano (winner)
Tim Townsend (runner-up)
Congratulations to all the winners, with a special shout out to Simone Bianchi– I was positive that Astonishing X-Men was reproduced from pencils.
IDW to publish Deluxe editions of Archie Comics
IDW Publishing has announced a partnership with Archie Comics to reprint some of the property’s most iconic stories in deluxe hardcover and trade paperback editions. Under the agreement, IDW will reprint sequential newspaper strips for the first time, offer multiple collections of the very best Archie comics material from the past seven decades, and add to the brand’s digital presence. The newspaper strip collections will be incorporated into the much-lauded Library of American Comics (Dick Tracy, The Complete Terry & the Pirates) helmed by Eisner award-winner Dean Mullaney.
Coming of age in post-World War II America, Archie captured the hearts of generations of children and adults. Archie and his friends remain hugely popular today, appealing to comic fans new and old with a blend of timeless stories and classic Americana style. Many popular comic book writers and artists cite Archie as their inspiration to work in the genre. Legendary comic book artist Neal Adams did his first professional work on Archie.
“We are incredibly excited to be working with Archie Comics,” said Greg Goldstein, IDW’s chief operating officer. “There are very few comics as influential in popular culture as Archie, and we are looking forward to offering original, never-before-reprinted strips and a wealth of comic book material to fans.”
In addition to reprinting original strips by series creator John Goldwater and original artist Bob Montana, IDW will also present Best Of volumes that showcase the work of Archie artists, such as Montana, Dan DeCarlo, and Stan Goldberg. “Archie has had so many talented artists throughout its history, each with their own take on the characters,” said Goldstein. “We want to offer fans the best from each of those eras, especially since much of this material has not been in print since its original publication.”
“We are thrilled to be partnering with IDW Publishing on these important historical works. IDW is well known for their outstanding work and we look forward to working closely with the team at IDW to create a line that all past, present and future Archie fans will enjoy,” commented co-CEO Jon Goldwater.
IDW will also publish special collections of Archie’s Madhouse and Archie as Pureheart the Powerful, a comedic super hero series that ran during the 1960’s. Award-winning creative director and editor Craig Yoe will oversee many of these special volumes.
Trevor Von Eeden, ComicMix Resolve Conflict
Writer / artist Trevor Von Eeden and graphic novel
producer ComicMix LLC have resolved their differences and are completing work
on The Original Johnson, the
biography of controversial African-American heavyweight champion Jack Johnson,
an international celebrity whose career and behavior became the pivotal point
in early 20th century race relations.
The concerns that separated the sides were not directly
related to Von Eeden’ story or art, nor over financial or rights issues. They
were of a technical and procedural nature, but were nonetheless important to
both sides.
Work is once again underway on The Original Johnson and new material will be posted weekly at www.comicmix.com
as soon as there is a sufficient backlog. The story has been entirely written and
penciled and has been approximately one-third inked. Color artist George
Freeman has resumed his efforts on the series.
The first volume of the printed version of the 240 page
graphic novel will be released through IDW Publishing later this year.
“I have
nothing but the highest praise for Trevor as a storyteller and as an artist,
and I think The Original Johnson is
the crowning achievement in his distinguished career,” ComicMix editor-in-chief
Mike Gold stated. “Trevor and I go back to his days on Black Lightning at the
very start of his career, and I am personally very happy we have resolved our
outstanding issues so that we can all get back to doing what we do best: make
real ass-kicking comic books.”
Von Eeden noted, “Part of the appeal to working with Mike
and ComicMix is that they’re letting me tell the story of Jack Johnson my own
way – the way this important story needs to be told. I’ve been working on The Original Johnson for over 12 years,
doing an intense amount of research and honing my artistic skills. So it’s
great to see that the book will finally reach its fruition.”
Both Von Eeden and ComicMix would like to thank in
appreciation Thomas Kjellberg, of Cowan, Liebowitz & Latman in New York
City, for his assistance in mediating this matter.
The Point More Star Wars & Twilight?
July 4th may be over, but it just got hotter in pop culture with rumors of a new live action STAR WARS series and spin offs for TWILIGHT. Plus ZENESCOPE gives us smokin’ hot fairy tales you shouldn’t read before going to sleep!
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