EW Tabs PW The Beat
Entertainment Weekly has posted a list of the best comics-related websites on their own site as part of their 100 Greatest Websites list. Among the websites noted are PWCW’s Heidi MacDonald and PW The Beat. Other comics-related websites cited by EW.com include Newsarama, Penny Arcade, Comics 101.com, and Comics.com.
Natsume Does Batman Manga
DC/Wildstorm is releasing Batman: Death Mask, a new manga series starring the Dark Knight and created by acclaimed manga-ka Yoshinori Natsume. In Batman: Death Mask #1, a new and skillful serial killer is on the prowl in Gotham and it’s suspected that he may be connected to the martial arts training Bruce Wayne received as young man while in Japan. Natsume is best known as the creator of the humorous supernatural manga series Togari, the story of dead feudal killer sent back to mortal earth by the rulers of hell to fight demons. The 4-issue mini-series will be released in 48-page prestige format beginning in April.
Comic Book “History”
The two guys that brought us Action Philosophers are planning on bringing the same irreverent scholarship to the history of the comic book industry with a new b&w series called Comic Book Comics. Much like their snarky but smart sendups of Plato, Kant and Derrida, Action Philosophers creators writer Fred Van Lente and artist Ryan Dunlavey will survey the history of American comics, aiming their zany focus at such comics icons as Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Frederic Wertham and Osamu Tezuka. Their “history” of comics will begin in 1896 and take in the full range of comics history touching on newspaper comics, the superhero age, underground and art comics and manga. They also promise (or threaten) to investigate one of the great issues of comics culture: who’s more annoying: overweight, nitpicking superhero fan boys or sneering, art comics hipsters? Dunlavey says the new comic will, “show how all those things are interconnected, and, to some extent, how they couldn’t exist without each other.” A preview of the self-published series is available at the Evil Twins website. Comic Book Comics #1 (40 pages) will be released in March.
New from NBM
In March NBM is releasing Metronome by Veronique Tanaka, a “silent, erotically charged” graphic novel debut with a introduction by Bone creator Jeff Smith. And in May, Manu Larcenet’s Ordinary Victories: What is Precious the final volume of Larcenet’s acclaimed series about a photographer in a small French town as his life and his work become engulfed in personal crisis.For more information on these books go to the NBM website.
Virgin’s Dan Dare Online
Virgin Comics’ Dan Dare #1 will be posted on Virgin’s website as part of Virgin’s Widescreen Digital Comics Book series. Installments of Dan Dare #1 will be posted every Monday and Wednesday. Dan Dare #2 was released on December 26th; Dan Dare #3 will be released on January 23rd. A wide variety of other Virgin Comics’ titles can also be found on their website.
Fantagraphics Comix Show
A new exhibition, Rebel Visions: The Underground Comix Revolution, has opened at the Fantagraphics Bookstore and Gallery in Seattle. The show features artwork by Rick Griffin, S. Clay Wilson, and Greg Irons. Patrick Rosenkranz, a comix historian, organized the show, along with Fantagraphics curator Larry Reid. The exhibit opened on January 12th and will remain up until February 6th. More information about the show can be found at the Fantagraphics blog.
New Reed Show Blogs
BEA show director Lance Fensterman has re-designed and re-launched his blog, now named, Medium at Large. The relaunched blog will be the official blog of BookExpo America, New York Comic Con, and the New York Anime Festival. Fensterman has been blogging as the BookExpo America organizer since 2006. He is also show manager for New York Comic-con.
Selznick Wins Caldecott Medal
Brian Selznick won the Caldecott Medal for his prose/comics/graphic work The Invention of Hugo Cabret. The Caldecott Medal is awarded annually to a distinguished children's picture book. For more information check out PW's story about the prize (and the rest of the prize winners) along with bookseller reaction. More info can also be found at the American Library Association's website.
January Zuda Competition Contestants
The contestants for the January Zuda competition have been announced. The comics can be viewed on the Zuda website, where readers can also vote for the winner. The winning comic of the December competition was Pray for Death by Nicholas Doan and Danielle Serra. Zuda is the webcomics site for DC comics.
