[Click on the headlines for links!]

Al Jazeera publishes a web comic, and it’s not what you expect!

Two Harris County (Texas) District Attorney employees were indicted by a grand jury for stealing evidence and selling it online!

The case that landed both men in jail began in May 2012, when they were assigned to investigate attorney Anthony Chiofalo, who embezzled about $9 million from his client, a company that manufactures heavy cranes.

[…]

In October 2012, Blevins sold thousands of dollars worth of rare comic books to a dealer in Chicago who later discovered they were the same items purchased by Chiofalo from an online auction house.

An attorney representing the company Chiofalo had worked for learned about the comics and recognized the name of the seller: Harris County DA’s investigator Lonnie Blevins.

The FBI arrested Blevins in February 2013 – about two months after he left the district attorney’s office. Federal prosecutors said he “cooperated substantially” in their inquiry.

Braina signingarnes & Noble offers signed books as door busters on Black Friday!

Here’s the link showing all of the titles!  Wimpy Kid!  Smile!  American Gods!  Amulet!  Timmy Failure!

Raina Telgemeier has posted scenes of her massive signing schedule on Facebook, where she signed eleven packages of book pages over ten days with twelve Sharpies.  The pages were then shipped to Asia, where they were bound into the books.  All in top secret mode.

Dunno if President Bush did the same, or if he went to an undisclosed location and signed the actual copies of his book.

How Did A Cartoonist for the National Lampoon and Playboy Get Hired To Draw One Of America’s Most Iconic Comic Strips?!?

…and why was he fired six years later?  Comic Book Resources has the secret history!

Obligatory Hyperbolic Press Release Of The Day

…with qualifications.

“Since we created the Safe Ship & Zip boxes, the damage rate has dropped to nearly zero,” said Drucker. “And, we’ve received lots of e-mails from customers thanking us for making opening boxes so easy.”

“We’ve shipped comic books to 117 countries, and our damage rate is among the lowest in the comic book business,” said [CEO Jim] Drucker. “So, if you buy comic books online, or are looking for comic books for sale, you don’t have to worry about shipping damage at NewKadia.”

[I did a sample search on their website.  They have a copy of “Superman Meets The Quik Bunny”, so it seems like a decent site.]

A New Comic Con Is Announced In Asia!

In a briefing today, Al Ahli Holding Group (AAHG) chief executive officer Mohammed Khammas said the company will hold the Asia Pop Comic Con 2015 in the Philippines.

The annual event features international brands in comics, animation, toys, music and movies, and Manila’s hosting will mark the United Arab Emirates-based conglomerate’s investment in the Philippines.

[…]

Established in 1977, AAHG’s businesses range from real estate to construction, engineering and infrastructure, retail and trading, technology and logistics, lifestyle and fitness, entertainment, as well as hospitality.

The conglomerate operates in 25 countries and has a 5,000-strong workforce.

…And You Can Have A Coffee While You Wait For It To OpenSweet Purple Potato Latte

Those are not the only pleasant surprises you’ll find upon entering Subspace Coffee House, though. Living up to the establishment’s moniker, the three-year-old coffee shop is divided into diverse, uniquely designed sections—“subspaces,” if you will—that, when taken together, deliver a one-of-a-kind cafe experience for K-Pop fans, pop culture geeks, office workers, and social media enthusiasts alike.

They specialize in latte art… using the foam to make an illustration, as seen here.

Thor is also proud of the fact that, as geeks and fans themselves, they can get pretty much any latte art request right, with minimal to zero questions and at no extra cost. “Our coffee is good, but our strength is really our latte art—we transport people to different locations by personalizing their coffee.” From comic book characters to TV shows to K-Pop bands, Subspace’s artists have got latte art down to a science. “[Our regulars] know that when they come in, we ‘get’ it. No need to explain what they want us to draw on their coffee. No questions asked, we get it.”

Another School Library Gets Boys To Read, in Fayettville, North Carolina

In the “Guys Read” program, students are paired with mentors who read with them and try to introduce them to the joys of the printed page. Many of the mentors are South View High School students.

Baldwin librarian Jennifer Scott said boys were singled out for the mentor program because they tend to read less than their female counterparts. Particularly at the fourth-grade level, Scott said, boys tend to drift away from reading.

[…]

Scott said the program attempts to identify books that 9- and 10-year-old boys might like.

“They like graphic novels. They don’t want books that don’t have pictures,” she said. “They don’t like made-up stories. If they do come to the library, they spend their time in the nonfiction section.”

The school advertised the mentoring program and partnered with South View High School. Many of the mentors are ROTC students looking to earn community volunteer credits, but other people from the community have volunteered to help.

…And A High School Teacher In Red Bank, New Jersey, Teaches Comics

Red Bank Regional High School teacher Sara Van Ness, who has published books on graphic novels, has turned her interest in the art form into a popular course at the high school.

“Graphic novels combine both visuals and the written word, so the reader is really participating in the meaning making process,” Van Ness said. “The kids not only have to interpret the words, but also the pictures and the interaction of the two. So it’s sometimes a more challenging reading experience for students, which is not the perception we have of graphic novels of: ‘Oh, they’re just for kids’ or ‘Oh, they’re easier text to read.'”

Discover The Secret Comic Book Origin Of An Art Book Publisher!

You started selling books very young. What were you into then?

I was interested in one particular comic book artist who made the Donald Duck series: Carl Barks, who is one of the great American 20th century art geniuses, and he’s still totally underappreciated. I thought I was the only one collecting comic books, but I learned that others did the same but much older than me — people who were looking to buy back the lost dreams of their childhood. So I started dealing when I was still in school; I had a little mail-order business when I was 14. I have this DNA for what a collector needs or loves. What we wanted to do later on with our books was create the ultimate fetish items for the collector.

Read the entire interview to discover an exclusive announcement!  (And if you’ve been good this year, Santa might bring you this.)

A Crowdfunded Comic Teaches Indian Children About The Law

Kanan and Kelly Dhru still have the wide-eyed enthusiasm characteristic of fresher law students. The sisters are on a mission to foster a new generation of kids who will grow up to be socially responsible adults aware of the laws that govern them. To this end, they plan to release a series of comic books called ‘Lawtoons’.

The first volume, which was released earlier this month, is titled “A Song for Everyone” and deals with topics like the Right to Equality and Freedom of Expression. The initiative has been successfully crowd-funded, with a total of 2.75 lakhs being raised for the first volume alone.

[Now if only someone in the U.S. could produce a comic on how Grand Juries work…]

“Batman and Robin” Meets “Batman Forever” or “Chill.”

Comics Artwork From Boris Karloff’s Cousin Sells For $485,500 in France

Some 400 lots of comic art were sold at the auction in Paris on Saturday, Artcurial said, with the highest price fetched by a Tintin strip from “The Castafiore Emerald”, signed by its creator Herge, going for 404,500 euros.

You can see the results at Artcurial’s website.  Search for Sale 2666, held 22 November 2014.  Or view the 244-page catalog here!

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