A few thoughts for our friends at DC Comics today
We're told a series of meetings will take place at 1700 Broadway today in which the shape of DC's move to the West Coast will be described.
Continue ReadingThe Elephant in the convention room
little elephant from sabahnur on etsy There have been some rumblings on the internets dismissing complaints about how low sales were at SPX this year. Sales complaints are not a minor problem -- these are Troubled Economic Times, and this year, even the bigger publishers at SPX showed signs of cutting back. The show was missing more than a few of the usual faces, and statistically, at least some of them had to have been economic casualties. I love going to SPX, and I have no complaints about how it's organized, but I've questioned whether it's even feasible for SPX's attendees to support the number of creators in attendance. So I thought I’d do some math regarding SPX tables in the interest of seeing just how the money in the room spreads around.
Continue ReadingEXCLUSIVE: Chris Claremont to headline KING CON November 4-7
How many conventions can one comics-crazy town hold? We're about to find out as the dates for KING CON in Brooklyn have just been announced: November 4-7 at the Brooklyn Lyceum. That's three weeks after the New York Comic-Con, and four weeks before the next Brooklyn Comics Arts Festival. And the show is expanding to four days from two this year. X-MEn writer Chris Claremont has just been announced as the Guest of Honor.
Continue ReadingMatt Fraction wins 2010 PEN Center literary award
Matt Fraction has become the first comics writer to win a prestigious PEN Center literary award for his "Outstanding Body of Work." The awards are presented annually to writers living west of the Mississippi. A panel of judges choose finalists in ten categories: fiction, creative nonfiction, research nonfiction, poetry, children’s literature, translation, journalism, drama, teleplay, and screenplay.
Continue ReadingAre comic book movies passé?
It seems that the general air of Doompocalypsamagedden has now even extended to the comic book film, a once thriving genre that provided much of the capital that has fueled the biz for the last decade. Over at Comic Book Movie, there's an unsigned "volunteer contribution" that suggests "comic book movie" could go the way of the Western or the POLICE ACADEMY movies:
Continue ReadingOctober is around the corner!
All this horror put us in mind to answer the question several of you have emailed: Yes, we will be doing 31 Days of Halloween this year! Send us Halloween-themed art or a link and we'll share it with the world, or at least with people who read The Beat. Send it to heidi dot macdonald at gmail dot com, and try to put the word Halloween in the subject somewhere so it's easier to find. Thanks in advance.
Continue ReadingNice Art: Nathan Fox’s Rabid Rabbit 12 cover
Speaking of horror, a A new issue of the indie anthology is coming out next month, and here's the grisly cover.
Continue ReadingMorning read: Elevator by Queenie Chan
From the Bento Comics site, a little horror story, Elevator by Queenie Chan. The story is downloadable for a variety of e-readers as well.
Continue ReadingStephen DeStefano’s Monday Strip
Only three were produced, alas, but they are swell. We have censored some salty language for our younger readers -- read the shocking unexpurgated version in the link!
Continue ReadingNice Art: Eleanor Davis’s farm illustrations
Eleanor Davis (SECRET SCIENCE ALLIANCE)) did some illos for Athens Tiny Farm and they are my-t fine. (Click for larger version.)
Continue ReadingGrant Morrison vs My Chemical Romance in new video
The BATMAN writer is the bad guy in a new MCR video? And here we always thought he was a force for good.
Continue ReadingComing Attractions: Fall 2010: Comic Strips
By Torsten Adair -- The following is a selection of new comic strip titles due to be published this Fall 2010. This list is not comprehensive, as there are over 200 books about comic strips scheduled from September to December. These are just the titles which caught my eye. Although you are welcome to debate the definition of "comic strip" in the comments, for my purposes I'm including single-panel cartoons as well as books about comic strips in this list.
Continue ReadingHave you seen me? Lost camera at SPX
Hey kids, apparently I lost my camera at SPX. I think I must have set it down on someone's table and then just forgotten about it in all the excitement of love and comics. It's a Canon Powershot A570is from 2007. I had downloaded about 95% of the pictures on it, but I'd like to get the SPX ones back. No questions asked!
Continue ReadingChester Brown’s PAYING FOR IT coming in 2011
And speaking of long awaited graphic novels, Chester Brown, another indie comics genius long silent, has finally announced a new graphic novel for 2011. It's called PAYING FOR IT, and it deals with his ongoing experiences with prostitutes.
Continue ReadingThompson finishes HABIBI
One of the great unfinished graphic novel projects, Craig Thompson's HABIBI, has been finished, he announced earlier this week. Thompson has been slaving away on this 600 page opus since BLANKETS was published to great acclaim in 2003. The subject matter is nothing less than Islam, and Thompson has promised to look at it the way he looked at Christianity in BLANKETS. That isn't going to be controversial at all.
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