NetComics' First American Title
NetComics, which publishes Korean manhwa and Japanese manga online and in print format, is launching it’s first American comic, Tales of the Closet, on it’s website. Tales of the closet is created by Ivan Velez, Jr., and revolves around the daily lives of gay and bisexual teens. The first chapter can be sampled for free, and all following chapters cost 25 cents to read. More information can be found at the NetComics website.
Friends of Lulu Winners
The 2008 Friends of Lulu Award winners were announced last weekend at the MoCCA Artfest. Martina Fugazzotto won the Kim Yale Award for Best New Female Talent; Shelly Bond won the Women of Distinction Award; Nell Brinkley was inducted into the Women Cartoonist Hall of Fame; Lee Binswanger won the Volunteer of the Year Award; and Marjane Strapi was named the Lulu of the Year. More information can be found at the Friends of Lulu website.
Kikuchi at NYAF
New York Anime Festival announced that Hideyuki Kikuchi, author of the Vampire Hunter D novels, will be a Guest of Honor at the show. Kikuchi will be joined by his translator Kevin Leahy, who will be a Featured Guest at the show. Kikuchi and Leahy are sponsored by Dark Horse Comics, the publisher of Vampire Hunter D in the US. NYAF will be held September 26-28 at the Jacob Javits Center in New York City. More information can be found at the NYAF website (http://newyorkanimefestival.com/).
Anime Expo 2008 Guests
Anime Expo 2008, an anime and manga con in Los Angeles, has announced that character designer Akemi Takada will be a Guest of Honor. Takada has worked on Urusei Yatsura, Creamy Mami, and Kimagure Orange Road. Other guests at this years Anime Expo include director Masahiro Ando, voice actor David Hayter, Pokemon director Masamitsu Hidaka, animator Hiromi Kato, voice actor Toshihiko Seki, and Japanese “It-Girl” Shokotan. Anime Expo will be held July 3through 6at the Los Angeles Convention Center. More information can be found at the Anime Expo website.
Lynda Barry in Chicago
To promote her new book What is it, cartoonist Lynda Barry will be giving a reading and signing books at Hideout Comics in Chicago on Thursday June 5. The event starts at 5 p.m.. There will be a cocktail hour with music as well. More information can be found at the Hideout Comics website.
New A.D. Chapter
The 12th chapter of A.D.: New Orleans After the Deluge by Josh Neufeld is now available at Smith Magazine online. A.D. follows the true stories of six people in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. Pantheon will release A.D. as a 200 page hardcover book in August 2009.
Quesada’s Cup of Joe
Marvel Editor in Chief Joe Quesada answers questions in MyCup of Joe at Myspace Comic Books. This week Quesada will discuss Secret Invasion #3, Wizard World Philadelphia, and the Fifty-State Initiative. One can leave questions for Quesada on the Myspace page and he will answer them every Friday.
PW The Beat: MoCCA, Rory Root, More
The Beat’s Heidi MacDonald has more to say about MoCCA and she collects responses from around the Web on a Rory Root memorial and a rumor roundup on Kodansha and Tokyopop.
