Comics Briefly

Talking with Ultimo's Hiroyuki Takei

Last year, Viz Media announced Ultimo, their first ever manga collaboration between an American creator, the legendary Marvel creator Stan Lee, and a Japanese creator, Hiroyuki Takei. Takei is the creator of the shonen manga, Shaman King, a series totaling with 32 volumes and a 64-episode anime adaptation. Takei appeared at this past weekend’s San Diego Comic-Con to promote the American release of Ultimo where PW Comics Week sat down and spoke with him.

Manga Keeps Growing in a Tough Economy

“If this is the valley,” Scott McCloud said at a discussion during the 40th annual San Diego Comic-Con International this past weekend, “then we’re doing pretty good.” McCloud was referring to the dip in the economy which was not reflected in the business climate of this year’s event. While some the publishers and vendors on the manga-side of the graphic novel business scaled down their booths or did not attend, others put on a strong show.

Furry Water Flows at Dark Horse

Rising art star Rafael Grampá is bringing two comics to Dark Horse, with a new six-issue mini-series, Furry Water, and a new edition of Mesmo Delivery, his first solo book. Furry Water is written with Daniel Pellizzari, a known SF author in their native Brazil. They describe the series as a saga of adventure and family honor set in a world where most of the population has been killed by “Furry Water,” a deadly rain.

Photo Mania

The 40th annual San Diego Comic-con International was a bombastic, oversized, pop cultural revival meeting, exhorting the gospel of contemporary comics, movies and TV. PWCW photographers roamed the San Diego Convention Center to bring back pictures of some of the people and events of the show.

Why Are Two Canadians Out to Kill Shakespeare?

If you're a fan of Alan Moore's League of Extraordinary Gentlemen or Bill Willingham's Fables, there's a good chance you'll be hooked on Kill Shakespeare, a new comics series coming from IDW next year and easily one of more exciting new projects bouncing around this year's Comic-con International.

Del Rey to Publish Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: The Graphic Novel

Following on the success of Quirk Book’s bestselling transformation of Jane Austen’s classic novel Pride and Prejudice into a zombie novel, Del Rey Books announced plans to turn Pride and Prejudice and Zombies into a graphic novel.

Comics, Movies and a New Publishing Deal for Bone at the San Diego Comic-Con

The 2009 San Diego Comic-Con International, the sold-out pop culture marathon that will attract about 125,000 fans to the San Diego Conventiion Center over the next 5 days, kicked off this year’s events with Preview night, a 3-hour sneak peak at the jam-packed exhibition floor, a new conference focused on the lucrative crossover between comics and other media and news of lots of publishing deals.

Amazon, Archaia To Release Kindle Graphic Novel

Although Amazon.com has published prose works exclusively on the Kindle before, in a first the online retailer has teamed with graphic novel publisher Archaia to publish Tumor, an original graphic novel by writer Joshua Fialkov and artist Noel Tuazon, initially in a digital edition formatted specifically for the Kindle; Tumor will be released serially on the Kindle before a hardcover print edition is published.

Red 5 Hits with iPhone App

With digital downloads of comics for various desktop and handheld devices getting more and more attention, several comics publishers are getting additional sales through iPhone downloads. One of the surprise success stories has been Red 5.

Brian Fies Looks Back at the Future

There was a time when the future was something to look forward to. That’s the spirit Brian Fies captures in his graphic novel, Whatever Happened to the World of Tomorrow? , published this month by Abrams. “It really stems from a joke—‘It’s the 21st century. Where is my flying car and jet pack?’—and looking back and turning over the question in my mind—what did happen to the fun stuff?” Fies said.

Otakon ‘09: Good Attendance and Sales; Some Complaints

The unofficial registration for this year's Otakon, an annual anime and manga convention held July 17-19 at the Baltimore Convention Center, was 26, 350, up slightly from last years attendance of 26, 262. Although fans showed up in force (and in costume) and vendors generally seemed pleased with sales, there were complaints about the organization of Artists Alley and the programming—including one anime panel that was abruptly halted for inappropriate content.

Comics Briefly

Yen Press Plans Twilight Manga; Rand’s Anthem to be Graphic Novel; Penguin Grabs Sex Is Fun; Spider-Man party at Hanley's; Mouse Guard RPG Nominated; Stan Lee's Time Jumper Premier; Taymor on Spider-Man Musical; SDCC 09: Papercutz, CBLDF, G4; and This Week @ Good Comics for Kids

Relationships and Preconceptions: Fumi Yoshinaga’s Ooku

The Ooku is the area of Edo Castle, the legendary ancient Japanese military capital, where the Shogun’s wife, concubines and female relatives lived during Japan’s Edo period (1603-1868). In Fumi Yoshinaga’s new alternate history manga Ooku: The Inner Chambers, the Ooku is instead the residence of the Shogun’s husband and concubines, for in this Japan, the women rule.

The Stand Graphic Novel Finally Comes to Bookstores

Marvel Comics and Random House’s Doubleday Broadway Publishing Group have reached an agreement to allow The Stand: Captain Trips, the hardcover graphic novel adaptation of Stephen King’s The Stand, to be distributed in the general bookstore market beginning in January 2010.

Asterios Polyp: A Tour De Force of Imagination and Drawing

One of the most talented comics artists of this generation, David Mazzucchelli first came to prominence as a superhero artist before moving on to make his reputation as a cartoonist of rare literary nuance and significance. This month Pantheon is publishing Asterios Polyp, Mazzucchelli’s first original graphic novel and a book about which not much has been revealed over the ten years or so that he’s been working on it.

The First Asian American Comicon Is a Cool Success

The first Asian American Comicon opened its doors at the newly built Museum of Chinese in America (MOCA) in downtown New York City to a long line of attendees. The space, designed by Maya Lin, architect of the Vietnam War Memorial in Washington D.C., quickly filled up well beyond its capacity. More than 500 people visited the museum for the show. Many came specifically to meet guest of honor Larry Hama, who has penned Marvel's G.I. Joe series for the past 20 years.

Funnies Business: Quantifying Library Penetration for Graphic Novels

Did you ever wonder how many copies a graphic novel could sell in the library system? Figuring out what a graphic novel could do is a bit of a puzzle. Libraries are an up and coming market for graphic novels (or “graphic fiction” or reprint collections; go ahead and pick your terms of choice).

Comics Briefly

Mazzucchelli, Nadel Public Conversation; Viz Adds Shonen Manga Line; San Diego Comic-Con Events; IDW Debuts Yoe! Books Imprint; Jeff Smith at C2E2 and ALA; S&S To Distribute Boom! Studios; Rusty Haller Benefit Auction; John Ostrander Fundraiser; Vietnam Journal Returns to Print; Nana Anime on iTunes; and This Week @ Good Comics for Kids

S&S Takes Over BOOM! Studios Distribution

Graphic novel publisher BOOM! Studios has a new distributor. Starting today, Simon & Schuster will handle sales, distribution and fulfillment for all new and backlist titles to trade and specialty accounts in the U.S. BOOM! was previously distributed by Perseus.