Tagged: comics

Can iPhone Comic Viewing Apps Bring In New Readers?

  • News
  • June 21, 2010

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As anyone who knows me will tell you, I am not a huge collector of comics. Sure, I have a small stash of ElfQuest comics somewhere in storage, and a handful of graphic novels, but I have never been a comic shop regular. It’s not that I don’t like comics when I read them, it’s just that I never got into the habit of going to a comic shop every week. In fact, until the past eight to ten years or so, the majority of my comic shop experiences involved getting sneered at by total strangers who thought I didn’t belong there. Things have gotten much better since comics have gone mainstream with major motion pictures and the like, but I still feel a little apprehensive about entering a shop. Sort of the way someone inexperienced with fine wine feels the first time they go to an upscale wine shop. I know I am not the only person who experiences this comic shop anxiety.

This, along with my iPhone obsession (sadly, I am not yet an iPad owner), makes me the perfect candidate for comic reading apps. I can browse titles, check out reviews online, make a purchase, and read the material without ever having to set foot in a shop. However, when I first began looking for a comic reading app, I was a little overwhelmed by all of the choices available. I decided I should take it upon myself to do a little research, but to pare down the possibilities, I first set some parameters for selecting reading apps. Since I didn’t know whether I would like the format, I decided that I would only download and try free applications. I generally follow this rule when downloading any applications I haven’t already tried, as there isn’t a refund if you don’t like what you get. Secondly, I decided that any reader which required me to download comics to my computer and transfer them to my phone in a different file format (ie. apps that convert different files into a readable comic) would be way too much work for the casual comics reader.  Therefore, only applications where I could download and read the comic right there made any sense.

I decided on four different apps to try: iVerse, IDW, XComics by ComiXology, and Marvel. (Disclaimer: IDW distributes ComicMix titles through their apps.)

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Rik Levins: 1950-2010

  • News
  • June 17, 2010

rik-levins-captain-america-cover-6543519Richard “Rik” Levins, a penciller for well over a hundred comic books, passed away June 12, 2010. He died peacefully at the Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Florida. Levins was born on October 15, 1950, in Somerville, New Jersey. He is survived by his wife Sandra, nieces Robin and Lynn, nephew Robert, and great-nephews Kenneth and Johnathan.

Before launching a career in the comic book industry, Levins worked for the US Postal Service. He later attended art school, which lead him to become a successful artist. He penciled covers and pages for titles such as Avengers, Femforce, The Shade, X-O Manowar, and many others. He is best known for penciling Captain America from 1991 to 1994, where he worked with writer Mark Gruenwald. Levins drew for several publishers, including Marvel, AC Comics, Acclaim, and Innovation.

Levins switched to working with computer art, and became a game developer and modeler. He followed this path for fifteen years, the last seven of which he spent instructing labs for Full Sail University’s (in Winter Park, Florida) gaming department. Levins never stopped contributing his time and talent to comic books, and worked on graphic novels up into his later years. Some of his final projects were Avengers: Galactic Storm, Death Hawk: The Soulworm Saga, and Nosferatu: Plague of Terror.

Relatives and friends are invited to attend a memorial service for
Richard at 5:00 PM., Friday, June 18th with visitation at 4:30 at the
Baldwin-Fairchild Funeral Home, 7520 Aloma Ave., Winter
Park, FL. 32792.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Richard’s memory to
Moffitt Cancer Center “Gifts of Memory” at www.moffitt.org/giving or the
American Cancer Society. Please sign and view the family guest book at www.baldwinfairchild.com.

Review: ‘The Book of Eli’

Those of us who make their living using words can fully understand how a good book can motivate people. Some of the worst fictional scenarios have involved totalitarian societies banning or burning books so the notion that The Good Book was blamed for global annihilation is a powerful notion. The burning of all bibles in the wake of some near-future event is the spark that propels the compelling [[[The Book of Eli]]]. Out tomorrow from Warner Home Video, the movie is available as a combo pack (Blu-ray, Standard, digital copies).

Written by Gary Whitta, we’re never given much detail about life before the war but we pick up 30 years later and see rural American society struggle to survive. There’s nothing about an American government let alone any sense of what is happening beyond the borders since everyone is worried about that most precious of commodities: water. People have resorted to scavenging and bartering under the bleak skies, while modern day highwaymen prey on the weak.

Strolling through all this is Eli (Denzel Washington), a man on a mission. For years now, he has been headed west because he heard a voice telling him to head there, protecting his precious cargo: the last known copy of the Bible. When he arrives in a small town, trading KFC handwipes for a battery recharge and a pair of winter gloves for a refilled canteen, Eli comes to the attention of Carnegie (Gary Oldman). They are men of a certain age, elders compared to so many others, able to read and are literate. Carnegie has forged a small government, using brute force to keep the peace and try to restore some semblance of society. All along, he has roving bands of brigands seeking a Bible, so when it becomes clear Eli is carrying a copy; he wants it at any cost.

He tries bribery, even sending Solara (Mila Kunis), daughter of Claudia (Jennifer Beals), the blind lover to Carnegie, to bed Eli, who rebuffs her advances. Solara finds him fascinating and begs to learn of life before the “Flash”. When Eli manages to leave town, she follows and in time he accepts her as his companion, recognizing his job is to protect and teach her.

Eli is a quiet man, but cross him and he becomes a tornado of violence, using hands, feet and a large knife to dispatch any physical threat. How he was trained and what made him such a deadly accurate shot and archer is never addressed. Given that he was on “a mission from God” it could be chalked up to divine intervention.

The play between Eli and Carnegie which forms the spine of the film is well handled by both Whitta and the directors, The Hughes Brothers. Carnegie is driven to obtain the Bible so he could harness its power to restore some semblance of society while Eli is out to protect it at all costs. Both remain convinced of the correctness of their actions making both men interesting figures. There are some twists in the final act which I won’t discuss but was pleased with them and felt they added something mythic to the overall story.

The world was envisioned by comic book artist Tommy Lee Edwards, Chris Weston and Rodolfo DiMaggio and successfully brought to life. Washington, Oldman, and Kunis give lovely performances while Beals and an uncredited Malcolm McDowell deserved more development.

The disc comes with about an hour’s worth of extras including talking heads on what it would mean for American society to be Starting Over. Eli’s Journey is a production featurette that shows how the story evolved and how the comic art was rendered for the film. A useless featurette was a look at The Book of Eli Soundtrack. Edwards provided the art to [[[A Lost Tale: Billy]]], a motion comic of sorts exploring Carnegie’s childhood. There are just a few deleted scenes which don’t add much to the film itself.

Overall, this is a thought-provoking tale that could have used a few less repetitive fight scenes and just a tad more character and backstory. By all means, you should be checking this out.

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Titan Launches ‘Torchwood’ Comic

torchwoodlg-jpg-2015808In addition to the ongoing audio dramas and original novels, the adventures of Captain Jack and the Torchwood crew are coming to comic books. Titan Publishing, which already handles the Torchwood magazine, will release a comic in August.

Two stories will appear, the first, “Captain Jack and the Selkie”, is being co-written by series star John Barrowman and his sister Carol E. Barrowman,. Handling the art is veteran Tommy Lee Edwards and Jonathan Ross. The second story, “Broken,” is the opening chapter to a five-part story, written by Torchwood script editor Gary Russell, with artwork by UK vet Adrian Salmon. Captain Jack, Gwen and Ianto (seemingly back from the dead) get trapped in a cosmic hotel, while an old villain from the TV series will return.

As one might expect, there will be variant covers – artwork by Ian Churchill or photography – for collectors with an exclusively edition, with different Churchill artwork available at July’s Comic-Con International.

Edwards told the Pink Paper his story “sees Barrowman facing a deadly threat on a remote Scottish island, where people are disappearing one by one. To his horror, the captain starts to suspect he may know who, or rather what, is responsible.” The artist came to Barrowman’s attention when he and Carole spotted a Captain Jack poster by Edwards at the 2008 San Diego-based convention.

“The four of us hit it off immediately and I asked if they’d ever be interested in working with us on a Captain Jack project. They thought about it for, oh, about 30 seconds, and ‘Captain Jack and the Selkie’ was born!”

Barrowman, who was seen this season on ABC’s Desperate Housewives, confirmed for BBC Radio 2 that the highly-anticipated fourth season of Torchwood will be a thirteen-episode affair, although no formal announcement or schedule has come from the BBC itself. Producer Russell T. Davies has previously indicated he knows exactly how he wanted to open the season, which would find Jack still off Earth while Gwen and Rhys welcomed their first child.

In the meantime, Barrowman is committed to appear in a production of Aladdin in Glasgow, at the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre’s Clyde Auditorium from December 11 to January 9, 2011.

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Buh-bye, htmlcomics.com: Illegal site shut down

We noticed htmlcomics.com a while back and its, shall we say, creative interpretation of copyright law before Rich Johnston brought them a bit of extra attention– which, as we were afraid of, spiked their traffic upward even faster than it was going.

So we were pleased to notice their site went down about three weeks back, and even more happy to see the illegal hosting of files is now officially gone:

The FBI has shut
down comic scan site htmlcomics.com and seized its servers in a raid
supported by a consortium of comic publishers, according to an
announcement by Katten Muchen Rosenman, the law firm representing the
publishers consortium.  Marvel, DC, Dark Horse,
Bongo, Archie, Conan Properties, Mirage, and United Media were involved. 

Htmlcomics.com was the
largest site offering scanned American comics, according to the
announcement, with an average of 1.6 million visits a day and over 6.6
million pages of comics from 5,700 series.  The
site was “…producing rampant copyright infringement on a daily basis and
depriving artists and publishers of hard-earned and much-needed
revenue,” according to the publishers’ attorneys.

That said, my rule of black markets apply– there’s no supply if there’s no demand. And comics are still the most expensive entertainment out there. Rich goes after some of the other arguments here.

Tim Gunn talks comics fashion, part 2

  • News
  • April 26, 2010

tim-gunn-alan-kistler-9418419Tim Gunn from Project Runway concludes his discussion with us on superhero
fashion as we pass judgment on Superman, Superboy, the Hulk and
others! And what famous comic book character apparently stole one of
Tim’s suits? Find out on the latest installment of Crazy Sexy Geeks!

And be sure to watch the first part!

Tim Gunn talks comics fashion

  • Uncategorized
  • April 17, 2010

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Tim Gunn, fresh off his stint in the Iron Man armor and his guest appearances with Aquaman, reunites with Alan Kistler to discuss super-hero fashion
and judge the looks of Mr. Miracle, Star Sapphire, Power Girl,
Catwoman, Spider-Man and Batwoman on this episode of Crazy Sexy Geeks!

Kick-Ass Goes Digital

  • News
  • April 15, 2010

In a release from Marvel Comics, just in time for tomorrow’s premier of the Kick-Ass movie:

Kick-Ass fever is sweeping the nation and now you can discover the hit series on your favorite mobile device! The complete Kick-Ass limited series is now available in single issue format for iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch users through the Comixology, Iverse and Panefly applications, while PSP users can download directly to their device!

“I have an ancient cell phone given to me by a relative that’s so old it can’t take pictures so this tech is so far away from me it might as well be science fiction,” said Kick-Ass writer and co-creator Mark Millar. “But I read about it on Comic Book Resources and Marvel.com– the guys seemed excited so consider me excited by osmosis. More readers and new readers is always a good thing.”

John Romita Jr, artist and co-creator of Kick-Ass, said, “I’m excited about these advances in technology that I have been hearing about for, what seems like ten years. Now it has arrived, and all I can think of is that it advances the state of ‘comic books’ in that it will direct people to the source material. I believe this will cement the tangible material, the comics themselves, into the hands and minds of future ‘young’ generations! It always comes down to the quality of writing and the sequential art. Holding a comic and turning the page for more will forever be a novelty, even with advanced technology as an option.”

2010 Eisner Award Nominations

  • News
  • April 8, 2010

The list is out. Pretty straightforward, with a few surprises (No Todd Klein or John Workman for lettering? And was Whatever Happened To The Caped Crusader not eligible?)

Our congratulations to all the nominees. We’ll be starting the betting pools in 3… 2…

Best Short Story
•  “Because I Love You So Much,” by Nikoline Werdelin, in From
Wonderland with Love: Danish Comics in the 3rd Millennium
(Fantagraphics/Aben malen)
•  “Gentleman John,” by Nathan Greno, in What Is Torch Tiger? (Torch
Tiger)
• “How and Why to Bale Hay,” by Nick Bertozzi, in Syncopated (Villard)
• “Hurricane,” interpreted by Gradimir Smudja, in Bob Dylan Revisited
(Norton)
•  “Urgent Request,” by Gene Luen Yang and Derek Kirk Kim, in The
Eternal Smile (First Second) 

Best Single Issue (or One-Shot)
•  Brave & the Bold #28: “Blackhawk and the Flash: Firing Line,” by
J. Michael Straczynski and Jesus Saiz (DC)
•  Captain America #601: “Red, White, and Blue-Blood,” by Ed Brubaker
and Gene Colan (Marvel)
•  Ganges #3, by Kevin Huizenga (Fantagraphics)
•  The Unwritten #5: “How the Whale Became,” by Mike Carey and Peter
Gross (Vertigo/DC)
•  Usagi Yojimbo #123: “The Death of Lord Hikiji” by Stan Sakai (Dark
Horse) 

Best Continuing Series
• Fables, by Bill Willingham, Mark Buckingham, Steve Leialoha, Andrew
Pepoy et al. (Vertigo/DC)
• Irredeemable, by Mark Waid and Peter Krause (BOOM!)
• Naoki Urasawa’s 20th Century Boys, by Naoki Urasawa (VIZ Media)
• The Unwritten, by Mike Carey and Peter Gross (Vertigo/DC)
• The Walking Dead, by Robert Kirkman and Charles Adlard (Image) 

Best Limited Series or Story Arc
• Blackest Night, by Geoff Johns, Ivan Reis, and Oclair Albert (DC)
• Incognito, by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips (Marvel Icon)
• Pluto: Urasawa X Tezuka, by Naoki Urasawa and Takashi Nagasaki (VIZ
Media)
• Wolverine #66–72 and Wolverine Giant-Size Special: “Old Man Logan,”
by Mark Millar, Steve McNiven, and Dexter Vines (Marvel)
• The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, by Eric Shanower and Skottie Young
(Marvel) 

Best New Series
• Chew, by John Layman and Rob Guillory (Image)
• Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Phillip K. Dick, art by Tony
Parker (BOOM!)
• Ireedeemable, by Mark Waid and Peter Krause (BOOM!)
• Sweet Tooth, by Jeff Lemire (Vertigo/DC)
• The Unwritten, by Mike Carey and Peter Gross (Vertigo/DC) 

Best Publication for Kids
• Lunch Lady and the Cyborg Substitute, by Jarrett J. Krosoczeka
(Knopf)
• The Secret Science Alliance and the Copycat Crook, by Eleanor Davis
(Bloomsbury)
• Tiny Tyrant vol. 1: The Ethelbertosaurus, by Lewis Trondheim and
Fabrice Parme (First Second)
• The TOON Treasury of Classic Children’s Comics, edited by Art
Spiegelman and Francoise Mouly (Abrams ComicArts/Toon)
• The Wonderful Wizard of Oz hc, by L. Frank Baum, Eric Shanower, and
Skottie Young (Marvel) 

Best Publication for Teens
• Angora Napkin, by Troy Little (IDW)
• Beasts of Burden, by Evan Dorkin and Jill Thompson (Dark Horse)
• A Family Secret, by Eric Heuvel (Farrar Straus Giroux/Anne Frank
House)
• Far Arden, by Kevin Cannon (Top Shelf)
• I Kill Giants tpb, by Joe Kelly and JM Ken Niimura (Image) 

Best Humor Publication
•  Drinky Crow’s Maakies Treasury, by Tony Millionaire (Fantagraphics)
•  Everybody Is Stupid Except for Me, And Other Astute Observations, by
Peter Bagge (Fantagraphics)
• Little Lulu, vols. 19–21, by John Stanley and Irving Tripp (Dark
Horse Books)
•  The Muppet Show Comic Book: Meet the Muppets, by Roger Langridge
(BOOM Kids!)
•  Scott Pilgrim vol. 5: Scott Pilgrm vs. the Universe, by Brian Lee
O’Malley (Oni) 

Best Anthology
•  Abstract Comics, edited by Andrei Molotiu (Fantagraphics)
•  Bob Dylan Revisited, edited by Bob Weill (Norton)
•  Flight 6, edited by Kazu Kibuishi (Villard)
•  Popgun vol. 3, edited by Mark Andrew Smith, D. J. Kirkbride, and Joe
Keatinge (Image)
•  Syncopated: An Anthology of Nonfiction Picto-Essays, edited by
Brendan Burford (Villard)
•  What Is Torch Tiger? edited by Paul Briggs (Torch Tiger) 

Best Digital Comic
• The Abominable Charles Christopher, by Karl Kerschl, www.abominable.cc
• Bayou, by Jeremy Love, http://zudacomics.com/bayou
• The Guns of Shadow Valley, by David Wachter and James Andrew Clark,
www.gunsofshadowvalley.com
•  Power Out, by Nathan Schreiber, www.act-i-vate.com/67.comic
•  Sin Titulo, by Cameron Stewart, www.sintitulocomic.com/ 

Best Reality-Based Work
• A Drifting Life, by Yoshihiro Tatsumi (Drawn & Quarterly)
• Footnotes in Gaza, by Joe Sacco (Metropolitan/Holt)
• The Imposter’s Daughter, by Laurie Sandell (Little, Brown)
• Monsters, by Ken Dahl (Secret Acres)
• The Photographer, by Emmanuel Guibert, Didier Lefèvre, and Frédéric
Lemerier (First Second)
• Stitches, by David Small (Norton) 

Best Adaptation from Another Work
•  The Book of Genesis Illustrated, by R. Crumb (Norton)
• Charles Darwin’s On the Origin of Species: A Graphic Adaptation,
adapted by Michael Keller and Nicolle Rager Fuller (Rodale)
•  Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury, adapted by Tim Hamilton (Hill &
Wang)
•  Richard Stark’s Parker: The Hunter, adapted by Darwyn Cooke (IDW)
• West Coast Blues, by Jean-Patrick Manchette, adapted by Jacques Tardi
(Fantagraphics) 

Best Graphic Album—New
• Asterios Polyp, by David Mazzuccheilli (Pantheon)
• A Distant Neighborhood (2 vols.), by Jiro Taniguchi (Fanfare/Ponent
Mon)
• The Book of Genesis Illustrated, by R. Crumb (Norton)
• My mommy is in America and she met Buffalo Bill, by Jean Regnaud and
Émile Bravo (Fanfare/Ponent Mon)
• The Photographer, by Emmanuel Guibert, Didier Lefèvre, and Frédéric
Lemerier (First Second)
• Richard Stark’s Parker: The Hunter, adapted by Darwyn Cooke (IDW) 

Best Graphic Album—Reprint
•  Absolute Justice, by Alex Ross, Jim Krueger, and Doug Braithewaite
(DC)
•  A.D.: New Orleans After the Deluge, by Josh Neufeld (Pantheon)
•  Alec: The Years Have Pants, by Eddie Campbell (Top Shelf)
• Essex County Collected, by Jeff Lemire (Top Shelf)
•  Map of My Heart: The Best of King-Cat Comics & Stories,
1996–2002, by John Porcellino (Drawn & Quarterly) 

Best Archival Collection/Project—Strips
• Bloom County: The Complete Library, vol. 1, by Berkeley Breathed,
edited by Scott Dunbier (IDW)
• Bringing Up Father, vol. 1: From Sea to Shining Sea, by George
McManus and Zeke Zekley, edited by Dean Mullaney (IDW)
• The Brinkley Girls: The Best of Nell Brinkley’s Cartoons 1913–1940,
edited by Trina Robbins (Fantagraphics)
• Gahan Wilson: 50 Years of Playboy Cartoons, by Gahan Wilson, edited
by Gary Groth (Fantagraphics)
• Prince Valiant, vol. 1: 1937–1938, by Hal Foster, edited by Kim
Thompson (Fantagraphics)
• Queer Visitors from the Marvelous Land of Oz, by L. Frank Baum, Walt
McDougall, and W. W. Denslow (Sunday Press) 

Best Archival Collection/Project—Comic Books
• The Best of Simon & Kirby, by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, edited by
Steve Saffel (Titan Books)
• Blazing Combat, by Archie Goodwin et al., edited by Gary Groth
(Fantagraphics)
• Humbug, by Harvey Kurtzman et al., edited by Gary Groth
(Fantagraphics)
• The Rocketeer: The Complete Adventures deluxe edition, by Dave
Stevens, edited by Scott Dunbier (IDW)
• The TOON Treasury of Classic Children’s Comics, edited by Art
Spiegelman and Francoise Mouly (Abrams ComicArts/Toon) 

Best U.S. Edition of International Material
• My mommy is in America and she met Buffalo Bill, by Jean Regnaud and
Émile Bravo (Fanfare/Ponent Mon)
• The Photographer, by Emmanuel Guibert, Didier Lefèvre, and Frédéric
Lemerier (First Second)
• Tiny Tyrant vol. 1: The Ethelbertosaurus, by Lewis Trondheim and
Fabrice Parme (First Second)
• West Coast Blues, by Jean-Patrick Manchette, adapted by Jacques Tardi
(Fantagraphics)
• Years of the Elephant, by Willy Linthout (Fanfare/Ponent Mon) 

Best U.S. Edition of International Material—Asia
• The Color Trilogy, by Kim Dong Haw (First Second) 
• A Distant Neighborhood (2 vols.), by Jiro Taniguchi (Fanfare/Ponent
Mon)
• A Drifting Life, by Yoshihiro Tatsumi (Drawn & Quarterly)
• Oishinbo a la Carte, written by Tetsu Kariya and illustrated by Akira
Hanasaki (VIZ Media)
• Pluto: Urasawa X Tezuka, by Naoki Urasawa and Takashi Nagasaki (VIZ
Media)
• Naoki Urasawa’s 20th Century Boys, by Naoki Urasawa (VIZ Media) 

Best Writer
• Ed Brubaker, Captain America, Daredevil, Marvels Project (Marvel)
Criminal, Incognito (Marvel Icon)
• Geoff Johns, Adventure Comics, Blackest Night, The Flash: Rebirth,
Superman: Secret Origin (DC)
• James Robinson, Justice League: Cry for Justice (DC)
• Mark Waid, Irredeemable, The Incredibles (BOOM!)
• Bill Willingham, Fables (Vertigo/DC) 

Best Writer/Artist
• Darwyn Cooke, Richard Stark’s Parker: The Hunter (IDW)
• R. Crumb, The Book of Genesis Illustrated (Norton)
• David Mazzuccheilli, Asterios Polyp (Pantheon)
• Terry Moore, Echo (Abstract Books)
• Naoki Urasawa, Naoki Urasawa’s 20th Century Boys, Pluto: Urasawa X
Tezuka (VIZ Media) 

Best Writer/Artist–Nonfiction
• Reinhard Kleist, Johnny Cash: I See a Darkness (Abrams ComicArts)
• Willy Linthout, Years of the Elephant (Fanfare/Ponent Mon)
• Joe Sacco, Footnotes in Gaza (Metropolitan/Holt)
• David Small, Stitches (Norton)
• Carol Tyler, You’ll Never Know: A Good and Decent Man
(Fantagraphics) 

Best Penciller/Inker or Penciller/Inker Team
• Michael Kaluta, Madame Xanadu #11–15: “Exodus Noir” (Vertigo/DC)
• Steve McNiven/Dexter Vines, Wolverine: Old Man Logan (Marvel)
• Fiona Staples, North 40 (WildStorm)
• J. H. Williams III, Detective Comics (DC)
• Danijel Zezelj, Luna Park (Vertigo/DC) 

Best Painter/Multimedia Artist (interior art)
• Émile Bravo, My mommy is in America and she met Buffalo Bill
(Fanfare/Ponent Mon)
• Mauro Cascioli, Justice League: Cry for Justice (DC)
• Nicolle Rager Fuller, Charles Darwin on the Origin of Species: A
Graphic Adaptation (Rodale Books)
• Jill Thompson, Beasts of Burden (Dark Horse); Magic Trixie and the
Dragon (HarperCollins Children’s Books)
• Carol Tyler, You’ll Never Know: A Good and Decent Man
(Fantagraphics) 

Best Cover Artist
• John Cassaday, Irredeemable (BOOM!); Lone Ranger (Dynamite)
• Salvador Larocca, Invincible Iron Man (Marvel)
• Sean Phillips, Criminal, Incognito (Marvel Icon); 28 Days Later
(BOOM!)
• Alex Ross, Astro City: The Dark Age (WildStorm/DC); Project
Superpowers  (Dynamite)
• J. H. Williams III, Detective Comics (DC) 

Best Coloring
• Steve Hamaker, Bone: Crown of Thorns (Scholastic); Little Mouse Gets
Ready (Toon)
• Laura Martin, The Rocketeer: The Complete Adventures (IDW); Thor, The
Stand: American Nightmares (Marvel)
• David Mazzuccheilli, Asterios Polyp (Pantheon)
• Alex Sinclair, Blackest Night, Batman and Robin (DC)
• Dave Stewart, Abe Sapien, BPRD, The Goon, Hellboy, Solomon Kane,
Umbrella Academy, Zero Killer (Dark Horse); Detective Comics (DC);
Northlanders, Luna Park (Vertigo) 

Best Lettering
• Brian Fies, Whatever Happened to the World of Tomorrow? (Abrams
ComicArts)
• David Mazzuccheilli, Asterios Polyp (Pantheon)
• Tom Orzechowski, Savage Dragon (Image); X-Men Forever (Marvel)
• Richard Sala, Cat Burglar Black (First Second); Delphine
(Fantagraphics)
• Adrian Tomine, A Drifting Life (Drawn & Quarterly) 

Best Comics-Related Periodical/Journalism
• Alter Ego, edited by Roy Thomas (TwoMorrows)
• ComicsAlliance, www.comicsalliance.com
• Comics Comics, edited by Timothy Hodler and Dan Nadel
(www.comicscomicsmag.com) (PictureBox)
• The Comics Journal, edited by Gary Groth, Michael Dean, and Kristy
Valenti (Fantagraphics)
• The Comics Reporter, produced by Tom Spurgeon
(www.comicsreporter.com) 

Best Comics-Related Book
• Alan Moore: Comics as Performance, Fiction as Scalpel, by Annalisa Di
Liddo (University Press of Mississippi)
• The Art of Harvey Kurtzman: The Mad Genius of Comics, by Denis
Kitchen and Paul Buhle (Abrams ComicArts)
• The Art of Osamu Tezuka: God of Manga, by Helen McCarthy (Abrams
ComicArts)
• Manga Kamishibai: The Art of Japanese Paper Theater, by Eric P. Nash
(Abrams ComicArts)
• Will Eisner and PS Magazine, by Paul E. Fitzgerald (Fitzworld.US) 

Best Publication Design
• Absolute Justice, designed by Curtis King and Josh Beatman (DC)
• The Brinkley Girls, designed by Adam Grano (Fantagraphics)
• Gahan Wilson: 50 Years of Playboy Cartoons, designed by Jacob Covey
(Fantagraphics)
• Life and Times of Martha Washington, designed by David Nestelle (Dark
Horse Books)
• Queer Visitors from the Marvelous Land of Oz, designed by Philippe
Ghielmetti (Sunday Press)
• Whatever Happened to the World of Tomorrow? designed by Neil Egan and
Brian Fies (Abrams ComicArts) (more…)

The Health Care Bill And The Comics Industry

  • News
  • March 22, 2010

So after more than 100 years, the House passed a health
care reform bill. As of this writing, our president is going to sign the thing
into law tomorrow and then the Senate has to affirm some changes.

And then every paranoid, fear-filled right-winger who
doesn’t know the difference between a communist, a socialist, and a Nazi will
moan about the world coming to an end. Republicans don’t like the word
“democrat,” and in their world a majority doesn’t rule the day, so court
challenges will abound.

Since ComicMix
is a comics-oriented website, it might be a good idea to address how all this
affects the comics world. But in order to do that, I’ve got to try to explain what’s
going on.

A lot of the good stuff doesn’t kick in until 2014, but
there’s a lot of good stuff that starts this year. No more pre-existing
condition exclusions, and a special program will help adults with pre-existing
conditions get coverage until the full program kicks in. No more getting
dropped by your insurer when you get sick. No more lifetime coverage limits.
The annual cap dwindles and is eliminated entirely in 2014. Kids can stay on
their parents’ insurance until they’re 26. That’s only fair, since they’re
living in the basement anyway. Small businesses will get tax credits of up to
50 percent of premium costs.

For the 65+ crowd, they’ll get $250 towards closing the
“donut hole” in their prescription drug coverage (right now, seniors have to cover
everything between $2,700.01 and $6,200), and Medicare’s preventive benefits
now come with a free visit with your primary care doctor every year.

Mind you I’m not totally thrilled with this bill, but I
agree with Congressman Denis Kusinich: it’s a lot better than nothing, and it’s
a good start. Sadly, a lot of people will die between 2010 and 2014. And it
will make the insurance companies all the more wealthy because everybody will
have to have private care insurance. Yeah, I know, there’s supposed to be a
safety net but it’s based upon family income and not family situation: if
you’re making a living today but have incurred massive debt due to previous
health costs, you’re still screwed. I’m not crazy about any law that forces
everybody to give money to big business whether they want to or not, but I’ve
long felt that same way about our seat belt laws. People should have the
freedom to do what isn’t necessarily best for them, as long as it doesn’t
affect others.

Getting back to goring the ox of fabled Comicsdom… (more…)

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