Panel Mania: Celluloid

Celluloid, Dave McKean’s first solo graphic novel since the 1998 work Cages, is a pornographic work of art. A woman, whose partner is stuck at work, arrives home and discovers a film projector. The film presents a blurry scene of a man and woman having sex. When the film burns out a door appears that leads the woman to a series of fantastical sexual encounters. Celluloid will be released by Fantagraphics on May 25th.

Comics Reviews: 4/25/2011

Ivan Brunetti’s Hard Won Lessons

Yale University Press has just published Ivan Brunetti’s Cartooning: Philosophy and Practice, a slightly revised edition of a booklet originally published in 2007 as an insert in Todd Hignite’s Comic Art magazine. The volume is a distillation of the cartooning course Brunetti has been teaching at the University of Chicago and Columbia College for several years now. At 88 pages, the book is far briefer than many that similarly promise to teach aspiring cartoonists the techniques of the trade. But to borrow a phrase from another cartoonist, Brunetti’s book is like concentrated orange juice: a potent dose that, like Brunetti’s own comics, values concision in the service of maximum personal expression.

Digital Comics Aren’t Just For Adults Anymore

One of the less hyped but most crucial uses of the smart phone and the digital tablet has been that of babysitter. It’s common to see kids playing Angry Birds, and there’s the widely reported story from December about kids racking up large fees on power-ups for “The Smurfs’ Village” game. Where video games venture, comics are never far behind. Kids’ comics have also entered the digital world.

Panel Mania: Even The Giants

In a series of elegantly drawn panels excerpted from his forthcoming work, Even the Giants, Jesse Jacobs eerily invokes the isolation of the Great White North, in a new graphic novel noted for both its beauty and its experimental drive. Even the Giants will be published by AdHouse in May.

Comics Briefly 4/19/2011

Layoffs at Dark Horse, Dash Shaw, Daniel Clowes and Jim Woodring Live in LA,Neil Gaiman Reading in NYC, Texas Library Wins Graphic Novel Giveaway Worth $20,000, Full Moon Free Online

Comics Reviews 4/18/11

Manga Pioneer Tokyopop Shuts Down U.S. Publishing

Continuing a rocky year for manga publishing, Tokyopop announced that it is shutting down its Los Angeles-based U.S. publishing division effective May 31. A Hamburg, Germany, office which handles European publishing and global rights will remain open, and film and television projects will remain unaffected.

Digital Manga Guild Ramps Up Quickly With New Licenses

Hikaru Sasahara, CEO of Digital Manga Publishing, first floated the idea of the Digital Manga Guild—recruiting manga fans to work in teams as translators—less than six months ago, and the idea is starting to take concrete shape. Sasahara has acquired 508 manga titles and hopes to start signing agreements with translation groups this week.

Big Books Dominate at MoCCA Festival

The busy spring schedule of major indie comics shows kicked off in New York with the 10th Annual MoCCA Festival last weekend. Held as a fundraiser for the Museum of Comics and Cartoon Art in Soho, the event was one week before Stumptown, a similar event in the similarly comics-heavy Portland, OR, and four weeks before The Toronto Comics Arts Festival.

Life in Comics: The Lottery

Last month, I think I saw the comics community at its ugliest. Gossip columnist Rich Johnston exposed a plagiarist and pretender named Rob Granito, who for years has been copying other artists’ work and selling it as his own, as well as claiming false, easily disproved credits. That was not the ugly part. In fact, it was a public service. Artists deserve to have the integrity of their work, and consumers deserve to get what they think they’re paying for. What was ugly were some of the responses to the exposé.

More Graphic Textbooks from Flat World Knowledge

After introducing the college world to graphic textbooks with his Atlas Black management series, Texas Tech University management professor Jeremy Short returns with two new textbook/comics titles: Tales of Garcon: the Franchise Players and University Life: A College Survival Story, his latest efforts using comics to create textbooks for college level students.

Photo Mania: MoCCA 2011

If you weren't able to visit the historic Lexington Avenue Armory in Manhattan this past weekend to see the MoCCA Art Festival, don't fret! We were on hand throughout the weekend at MoCCA taking pictures and enjoying the spring-like vibe, the programming and panels and, of course, the excellent selection of indie and self-published comics, graphic novels and mini-comics. Here are a few photographs of the artists, publishers and fans that attended MoCCA 2011. Most photos are by Jody Culkin unless noted otherwise.

Comics Briefly 4/12/2011

2011 Eisner Award Nominations, Comics Announcements from Kapow! Comic Con, Comixology Introduces Comics 4 Kids app, Act-I-Vate Launches New Egyptian Revolution Comic, Nick Cage's $1 Million Comic Found, New MoCCA Courses, George Takei Wants to be Spider-Man, Bill Roundy's New Weekly Bar Comic Strip, This Week @ Good Comics For Kids, This Week @ The Beat

Comics Reviews: 4/11/11

WonderCon Expands – But Not Too Much

Fans who were shut out of getting tickets for the San Diego Comic-Con headed north this weekend for WonderCon, the Bay area comics show which celebrated its 25th edition this year. While final attendance numbers are not yet available, director of public relations David Glanzer confirmed that attendance would likely exceed the 39,000 fans that attended last year’s show.

Viz App Brings Manga to the iPad

Viz introduced its iPad app in November 2010 with five volumes of manga. Six months later, the app features over 100 volumes, and last week, Viz broke new ground by releasing vol. 4 of Bakuman on the app before it was released in print.

Panel Mania: Marvel Zombies Christmas Carol

PWCW presents an exclusive preview from the Marvel Zombies Christmas Carol written by Jim McCann and illustrated by David Baldeon. An adaptation of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol featuring Victorian zombies along side Ebeneezer Scrooge and the ghosts of Christmas. The first issue is due out on May 4.

Childrens Comics Reviews: 4/4/11

WonderCon Brings Fans, Publishers, Excitement to San Francisco

Fans who were shut out of getting tickets for the San Diego Comic-Con headed north this weekend for WonderCon, the Bay area comics show which celebrated its 25th edition this year. While final attendance numbers are not yet available, director of marketing and public relations David Glanzer confirmed that attendance would likely exceed the 39,000 fans that attended last year’s show.