Spiegelman Keynotes ICv2 Confab
Pop culture trade news site ICv2 announced that Art Spiegelman will give the keynote address at this year's ICv2 Graphic Novel Conference, held in conjunction with New York Comic Con. The fourth annual conference, entitled “Success in a Time of Change,” will be held on Thursday February 5 at the Jacob Javits Center in New York City. In addition to Speigelman’s keynote, “What the !@##*! Happened to Comics?!, in the afternoon, there will be two morning panels “Comics on the Web” and “Comics and Social Networks,” and in the afternoon ICv2’s annual White Paper, a panel on graphic novel literary adapatations moderated by PWCW’s Calvin Reid, and graphic novel buyers panel on industry trends. Tickets to the conference for retailers and librarians has been reduced this year; more information about tickets can be found at the NYCC website The conference is sponsored by Transcontinental Printing and Publisher’s Weekly.

PW’s Best Comics of 2008
Among the comics chosen as some of the best of 2008 are Emanual Guibert’s Alan’s War; Marguerite Abouet and Clement Oubrerie’s Aya of Yop City and Lynda Barry’s What it is. Check out our complete list of picks for the best comics and prose works of the year on the Publishers Weekly website.

Graphic Novel Reporter Debuts
BookReporter.com, an online network of book related websites covering adult and children’s books, is launching GraphicNovelReporter.com, a consumer-oriented site focused on comics in the book format, later this month. The site will be updated weekly and feature reviews, author interviews as well as news on comics and the movies, Reading Clubs and much more. Carol Fitzgerald, founder and president of the Book Report Network, said the new site will funnel content to its sister sites such as Kidsreads.com and Teensreads.com sites.

Campbell, Deutsch Ink Book Deals
In separate deals, cartoonist Barry Deutsch has signed with Harry Abrams’s YA imprint Amulet Books to publish his webcomic/mini comic Hereville as a YA graphic novel in 2010; and cartoonist and illustrator Scott Campbell has signed with Simon & Schuster to publish a children’s picture book. Both deals were negotiated by agent Judy Hansen of Hansen Literary Agency.

Deutsch’s Hereville is an eccentric adventure story about a Mirka, a young orthodox Jewish girl who dreams of fighting legendary monsters from fairy tales. The book was acquired by Abrams Comic Arts executive editor Charles Kochman. Film rights will be handled by Nick Harris of Rabineau Wachter Sanford & Harris. Campbell will create the illustrations for the childrens’ picture book East Dragon Meets West Dragon which will be published by S&S’s Atheneum Books/Ginee Seo Books. The deal was signed before Seo announced plans to leave S&S. Despite her departure Seo plans to oversee the editing and publication of the remaining titles in her line.

Deutsch studied cartooning at New York City’s School of Visual Arts and has been nominated for the Eisner Awards’s Russ Manning Award for outstanding new talent. Campbell publishes comics online through the Doublefine webcomics site; he has been nominated for an Ignatz award and is a contributor to Flight, the acclaimed color anthology, and has published his comics in a variety of print anthologies.

Euro-Comics In NYC
As the fifth annual New Literature from Europe Series, the cultural institutes of the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain are presenting Graphic Novels from Europe Festival. The festival will take place from November 17-21 at various locations in New York City. The guests of the festival include seven European cartoonists: David B., Nicolas de Crecy, Igort, Jaromir 99, Isabel Kreitz, Max, and Jaroslav. During the festival the guests will participate in book signings, an exhibit of their works at the French Cultural Services, and discussions. The exhibition at the French Cultural Services will remain open the duration of the show. The School of Visual Arts will host a discussion with all the creators, moderated by David Mazzucchelli, on Wednesday November 19 at 6:30 pm, and at the Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art the creators will give presentations and sign books on November 20 at 6:30 pm. All the events in the festival are free and open to the public. Also, running from November 21 to December 19, there will be an exhibit of the two Czech creators, Jaromir 99 and Jaroslav Rudis, at the Prague Kolektiv. A full list of all the events in the festival can be found at the French Culture website.

Straczynski at NYCC
Acclaimed comics writer J. Micheal Straczynski will be a Guest of Honor at the 2009 New York Comic Con. Straczynski is the creator of the TV series Babylon 5, and he wrote the new movie Changeling. At the show Straczynski will speak about past and future projects, sign autographs, and hold a writing workshop. NYCC will be held February 6-8 at the Jacob Javits Center in New York City.

Stumptown at Wordstock
The Stumptown Comics Foundation is partnering with the Wordstock Book Fair. Local publishers Dark Horse, Oni Press, Top Shelf, Shadowline, and Sparkplug will participate in a “Graphic Novel Garden.” The event will feature Woodstock guests Mike Mignola, Lynda Barry, Alison Bechdel, and Spain Rodriguez. A variety of comics centered workshops and demonstrations will be held at the show such as character design, silkscreening, hand bookbinding, and visual storytelling; notable cartoonists like Jim Valentino, the co-founder of Image Comics, will present these programs. Also, on Thursday November 6, there will be a party at the Fuzzy Lamour Gallery at 625 NW Everett St. with food and drinks; the event will last from 6 pm until closing. Wordstock will be held on November 8 and 9 at the Portland Convention Center.

Steve Canyon on DVD
The Steve Canyon TV series, based on Milton Caniff’s comic strip, will be released in its entirety on DVD’s. The Air-Force themed show has a total of 34 e\episodes, and the comic strip ran for forty-one years until Caniff’s death. The DVD’s will be released in three volumes; the first volume, featuring the first twelve episodes, will go on sale November 18. The second volume, with the next twelve episodes, will come out sixty to ninety days later, and the last ten episodes in the 3rd volume will be released sixty to ninety days after the second volume. The DVD’s can be ordered at the Steve Canyon on DVD website.

Sword of Dracula on the iPhone
Military-horror comic, Sword if Dracula is available on the iPhone through Clickwheel. The comic can be purchased in as seven individual comics or as a collected graphic novel. A second series, Sword of Dracula: The Dracula War, will be released in December, in stores and on the iPhone; Digital Webbing is publishing it.

IDW Does Violent Messiahs
IDW Publishing is republishing Violent Messiahs: The Book of Job. Created by Joshua Dysart and William O’Neill, the book has been out of print. The first volume was released in October, and a second volume, Violent Messiahs: Lamenting Pain will be released in December. A new, never published story-arc, Dysart wrote the script, with art by Tone Rodriguez.

Shojo Beat, Shonen Jump Games
The December issues of Viz’s Shonen Jump (http://www.shonenjump.com/index.php)and Shojo Beat will focus on new video game titles and trends. In Shonen Jump, there will be a “Games We Love” Section, with the magazines awards for the best games of 2008 as well as a recap of the state of the video game industry this year; the issue will also feature reviews of new games. In Shojo Beat, the best games for girl gamers this year are featured as well as the “Top 7 Video Game Heroines. The magazine will also explore new vampire themed games, which ties in with their detailed guide to Vampire Knight in this issue. Also, both magazines will be holding a sweepstakes for a Nintendo Wii; the sweepstakes can be entered either online or through the mail. Shonen Jump goes on sale November 4th, and Shojo Beat goes on sale November 18.

Marvel Super Hero Squad Strips Online
As of October 31, Marvel is offering Marvel Super Hero Squad comic strips on the Marvel website. Based on the line of Hasbro action figures, the strips are free, and a new strip will be available every weekday. Also, in January Marvel will release a one-shot comic, Marvel Super Hero Squad: Hero Up!, written by Paul Tobin with art by Marcelo DiChiara and Chris Sotomayor.