Time was when the whole family would gather in the living room once a week to fight over the Sunday newspaper. People would settle for their second favorite sections, but only one could start with the most popular: the Sunday funnies. Back in those days, there were no more than three strips to a page — often two, and sometimes only one. Principle among these full-page delights was Hal Foster’s Prince Valiant.

Seventy years later Val is still with us, often criminally reduced to one-fifth of a page. Prince Valiant is in the hands of only its third artist, a worthy successor to Foster and John Cullen Murphy named Gary Gianni.

Known to comics fans for his work on such iconic characters as The Shadow, Tarzan and Conan, Gianni illustrates Mark Schultz’s scripts – Schultz himself is no slouch as an artist. All that is preamble.

This June, Flesk Publications is releasing Gary Gianni: The Prince Valiant Page, a 112 page hardcover study of Gianni’s work on the feature, lavishly illustrated with black and white art shot from the originals as well as three color gatefolds. The hardcover edition is limited to 1,000 copies; there’s also a ultra-cool deluxe hardcover that features one of Gianni’s pencil preliminaries – in other words, original art. A trade a paperback edition will be released eventually. Prices on all this have yet to be announced.

Oh, yeah. The introduction was written by Mike Mignola. Turns out Gary did some Hellboy, too!

Mice Templar is on a lot of people’s favorite comics lists and the buzz is non-stop, all for a little comic about mice with swords. Surprisingly enough, the story behind the comic is fascinating as well and ComicMix Radio brings on co-creator Bryan J.L. Glass to share how he – and Michael Oeming – got it all on paper.

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First, the disclaimer. I’ve known Ms. Tree’s Max Allan Collins and Terry Beatty since we were all pups down on the farm, I’ve done some research consulting on Max’s Heller series, and I was the editor of Ms. Tree Quarterly. More to the point, there’s this scene at the end of a story where Tree goes back to the scene of the crime strictly to murder the bad guys; that final page was dedicated to me and I’m proud of it. Make what you will of that.

Well, it turns out Our Gal Friday (that’s a joke, but you’ve got to read Ms. Tree to get it) may be headed to the small screen. In an interview with Comics2Film, Collins disclosed the Oxygen Network has "gone beyond an option (and paid) the purchase price." They’ve assigned two screenwriters to the write the first movie, both women, and it’s being regarded as a pilot for further movies and possibly a teevee series.

Obviously, things have been held up a bit by the WGA strike, but Collins took his original treatment and turned it into Deadly Beloved, a paperback novel published last December by Hard Case Crime. Cooler still (since Collins is the author of about a million mystery novels, including the aforementioned Heller boos, and teevee/movie tie-ins, including many of the C.S.I. books) the cover was painted by Ms. Tree artist Terry Beatty.  (more…)

Vulture, the online culture blog of New York Magazine, has posted a full story from The Other Side of the Mirror, a collection of romance stories in manga form by Jo Chen.

The story is titled "99 Roses" and features some beautiful art to accompany a story that’s equal parts dreamy romance and slapstick manga-style laughs

Every morning, the woman receives a single rose in her mailbox. Every afternoon, she dreams about the boy who leaves them there. And 50 years later, a family tells her story.

The Tallahassee Democrat reports that a documentary on the life and work of Jack T. Chick, the creator and publisher of pocket-sized "Chick Tracts" comics, will begin screening tonight in Tallahassee, FL.

The tiny comics, published since the 1960s and now collectors’ items around the underground comics scene, contain religious-themed criticisms of homosexuality, Judaism, Harry Potter, Dungeons & Dragons and a variety of other topics.

Why does any of that merit a documentary, you might ask? Here’s your answer:

Chick tracts are free, handed out in bus stations, flea markets, college campuses and malls. He has published more than 1 billion, making him the most widely distributed underground cartoonist on the planet. Yet, Chick himself remains a reclusive, shadowy and controversial figure who exists on the fringes of popular culture and organized religion.

Yup. This could be an interesting one, folks.

By the way, the accompanying image is from "Doom Town," a Chick Tract that explains the horrors of homosexuality and the carnage God will unleash if mankind tolerates same-sex relationships. Fun stuff!

Oh, and if you’re in the mood to pile on some ol’ fashioned religious guilt, there are links to full Chick Tracts on Jack Chick’s wikipedia page.

I don’t care what you say – the best parties are always on the West Coast. And tonight’s "Y: The Last Party" bash is no exception.

Hosted by MySpace Comics and Los Angeles comics mecca Meltdown, the party kicks off at 7 PM (PST) and will feature appearances by Joss Whedon and other comics and pop-culture celebs toasting the work of Y: The Last Man creators Brian K. Vaughan and Pia Guerra, who will also be in attendance.

And if that wasn’t enough to get you looking up flights and hotel reservations, there will also be an auction of Y-inspired art from comics artists such as Cameron Stewart, Massimo Carnevale, Jill Thompson, Eduardo Risso, Cliff Chiang, Darick Robertson, Dan Goldman, Jim Mahfood, Jeffrey Brown, Goran Sudzuka, Mike Dawson, Niko Henrichon, Goran Parlov, Dean Haspiel, Nikki Cook, Jeremy Love, Mike Davis and Moritat. MySpace Comics has posted a gallery of some of the art that will be auctioned off over on the event’s official homepage.

Proceeds from the event will go to the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund – which completes the trifecta of good reasons to attend.

From the official event press release:

Whedon, the famed creator of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, and Firefly, will kick off the festivities in Meltdown’s Hollywood gallery space with a keynote speech in appreciation of the series. Following the speech will be a live Q&A with guests of honor Vaughan & Guerra. There will also be a VIP Reception prior to the event, with Whedon, Vaughan & Guerra, that will include the unveiling of a never-before-seen print by Pia Guerra. …

… Capacity for this event is strictly limited to 140 people. VIP reserved seating tickets are sold out. 70 general admission "standing room only" tickets for the event will be $25, and are available on a first-come, first served basis on the day of the event.

Oh, and if you’re attending the event and trying to think of something to bring back for me, go ahead and bid on the Darick Robertson piece with Ampersand and the skull. I dig it immensely.