The Boys of Wizard

15 Comments POSTED ON Jan 25 2011 AT 9:15 am BY The Beat

While the industry reacted with equal parts nostalgia and disdain to yesterday's announcement of the end of Wizard nagazine (see next post), and quite rightly pointed out all the harmful, childish attitudes it enshrined, we'd like to dwell for a moment, if we may, on the magazine's one very positive legacy: all the great people who worked there.

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Mainstream media spoils Fantastic Four death

33 Comments POSTED ON Jan 25 2011 AT 9:00 am BY The Beat

An AP story flooded the wires with a total spoiler on the death in this week's FANTASTIC FOUR #587. We blanked out the name here but click on the link if you MUST know:

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Nice art: Takio by Bendis and Oeming

5 Comments POSTED ON Jan 24 2011 AT 9:28 pm BY The Beat

Share this link on Facebook!Tweet TAKIO is definitely something different from Brian Bendis and Michael Oeming: a kids’ story. Set in a family where two squabbling sisters learn to come together after an accident gives them superpowers. Released through Marvel’s creator-owned imprint, Icon, TAKIO is also unusual in that it’s being put out in a done-in-one [...]

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To Do 1/27 — Tony Millionaire at Desert Island

0 Comments POSTED ON Jan 24 2011 AT 6:16 pm BY The Beat

Share this link on Facebook!Tweet Tony Millionaire at Desert Island — let do this!

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Former Wizard employee paints grim picture

10 Comments POSTED ON Jan 24 2011 AT 4:32 pm BY The Beat

Over at iFanboy, one of the former Wizard employees has given a tell-all exit interview that's pretty juicy. Here's how the employees found out what was going down:

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Vermont names Cartoonist Laureate: James Kochalka

12 Comments POSTED ON Jan 24 2011 AT 3:30 pm BY Jen Vaughn

By Jen Vaughn -- What do you do with a man with a wild mind of his own and a pair of drawing hands that just won't quit? You make him KING. James Kochalka is the one of forerunners of autobiographical diary comics with his syndicated comic, American Elf, which is also available online and began way back in October, 1998. He is also the creator of other excellent comics like irreverent SuperF*ckers and children's books like the Johnny Boo series and most recently, Dragon Puncher. His comics are published by Portland-based comics publisher, Top Shelf.

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Wizard Magazine goes public and digital, ends print edition – UPDATED

9 Comments POSTED ON Jan 24 2011 AT 1:44 pm BY The Beat

Numerous reports this morning that the print version of Wizard Magazine is shutting down, effective immediately, with all staff laid off and assignments canceled. According to Bleeding Cool, ToyFare magazine will continue. And based on the number of tweets coming out of the Wizard World convention business, the Wizard World shows will also continue. According to a press release just released from Gareb Shamus, Wizard will continue as an online "Wizard World" Magazine. In addition, the previous Wizard corporation is being replaced by Wizard World, a new public company, which is being traded as a penny stock.

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Announcing the Golden Age Women In Comics Wiki

2 Comments POSTED ON Jan 24 2011 AT 9:35 am BY The Beat

Of late, Tumblr has become quite a hotbed of discussion over perennial issues of women in comics, and the Ladies Making Comics run by Alexa D. has been in the forefront of the talk. Now LWA has started something incredibly cool and much needed: a wiki for all the unsung women of Golden Age comics. And it's a lot more than you probably thought.

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Are Marvel and DC cutting costs?

24 Comments POSTED ON Jan 24 2011 AT 9:30 am BY The Beat

Over a year ago, when Marvel and DC both turned into pawns of the larger game of Disney and Warners, it wasn't too hard to see the handwriting on the wall for some massive changes as the "Big Two" at the heart of comics publishing fundamentally altered their corporate structures -- including eliminating up some of their unprofitable businesses and looking to save money all over. At DC, there have been lots of snippets of change coming out, including, of course, shutting down the Zuda, CMX and WildStorm lines, and more recently, a major change in the contracts for creator participation books which has made Vertigo a much less desirable destination for creators. Chris Butcher has an interesting post which mentions other cost cutting measures, including not shrink wrapping hardcovers any more.

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Update: Tony Harris’s Roundeye still on Kickstarter

7 Comments POSTED ON Jan 24 2011 AT 9:10 am BY The Beat

A few months ago, we wrote about artist Tony Harris and his attempt to raise $60,000 via Kickstarter to fund his dream project, a graphic novel called ROUNDEYE: FOR LOVE. This raised a bit of discussion about whether $60k was too much for Kickstarter or whether this was an appropriate amount to attempt to raise. (Harris said it reflected his need to feed kids and pay the mortgage.) Since then a couple of things happened.

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Congratulations, Tony and Tracy Lee

2 Comments POSTED ON Jan 24 2011 AT 9:00 am BY The Beat

The comics writer and his bride Tracy were wed this weekend/ Tony writes:

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The Book Report: Bargain Bin: Books

2 Comments POSTED ON Jan 23 2011 AT 10:00 pm BY Torsten Adair

We continue our series on cheap, obsolete media formats by showcasing a technology little improved in two thousand years. In an age when technology gets tossed aside in favor of the Latest Thing Next Year, is it any wonder that books are finally becoming quaint antiques, reminiscent of an earlier, less complicated age? But don't worry, bibliophiles! Just as there are still markets for mangles and typewriters, so too will a market for books exist in less developed cultures! As the book market in the U. S. slowly shrinks and shrivels, numerous bargains will appear, like the ones below!

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The Book Report: Bargain Bin: DVD-ROMs

8 Comments POSTED ON Jan 23 2011 AT 7:00 pm BY Torsten Adair

A minor market segment, these box sets offer what most fans are clamoring for: ownership of the actual file instead of an app, affordable comics (even at $50, the per-comic cost is usually below twenty-five cents), and extras which turns these collections into electronic omnibuses. However, due to sticker shock, and the experience of reading these comics on a horizontal screen, many fans have been reluctant to purchase these collections. Which means that now, as the digital marketplace transitions to apps and browser-based readers, these older CD- and DVD-ROM collections are being sold at clearance prices. So, dear readers, in these challenging economic times, we offer you this bargain bin listing of select titles found on Amazon.com. We make no money from directing you to these forgotten gems, and, as with anything on the web, caveat lector et emptor.

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Comics and porn connect in Vegas

11 Comments POSTED ON Jan 22 2011 AT 10:00 am BY The Beat

It's strange, I suppose, to find a show so entrenched in geek culture as CES almost completely devoid of comics influence, only to discover a porn show roughly three miles away swimming in the stuff.

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Archie drops the Comics Code…Wertham dead forever

76 Comments POSTED ON Jan 21 2011 AT 6:23 pm BY The Beat

Share this link on Facebook!Tweet After yesterday’s news that DC Comics was dropping the Comics Code, leaving Archie the last surviving member of the Comics Code Authority…comes word that Archie has also dropped the Code, starting with books on sale in February. The move will have no effect on content: But Pellerito said Archie’s decision has nothing [...]

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Heidi MacDonald, editor-in-chief

Assistant Editor: Kate Fitzsimons

Contributing Editors
Torsten Adair
Jen Vaughn

Technology Editor: Bruce Lidl
Entertainment Editor: Shannon O'Leary

Columnists:
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Michel Fiffe
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Rich Johnson
Paul O'Brien
MK Reed

Illustrations:
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