Comics

As retailers keep slashing their orders on Before Watchmen and the replacement "New 52" titles, DC's overall figures decline again in July. That, in itself, is not surprising, however, and the company is still doing quite well. I see no reason to disagree with anything prominent retailer Brian Hibbs said in his recent look at "New 52" numbers. With regard to DC's overall performance, Hibbs makes some of the same points that I've been making here in the months since the relaunch, and as far as his own store is concerned, his observations seem to match the market climate. "The reboot was a remarkable success," Hibbs says, and: "There hardly could have been a better result." I agree, all things (such as the stifled potential of the comic-book format and the stifling way the major publishers are set up now, structurally) considered. But it's also worth remembering that what we talk about now when we talk about comic-book sales that are "doing quite well" and a relaunch that's "a remarkable success," and note that "there hardly could have been a better result," are the kinds of sales figures we used to see more regularly five years ago, when the DC Universe imprint was publishing fewer comic books than it is now. (From 2007 through 2009, the average number of published DC Universe titles was 52. From 2010 through August 2011, it went up to 57. Since the relaunch in September 2011, it's been an average 63 DC Universe titles per month. "Keeping it at 52"? Not very much, Dan DiDio.)

Each year, Marvel SVP of Publishing Tom Brevoort gives a lecture on editing to younger Marvel staffers. At this year's Baltimore Comic-Con, he presented the two-hour talk for the audience, as recounted by Alex Zalben. Although there's definitely some "Marvel Way" in the talk, most of it was the kind of common sense that everyone needs drilled into them. However, it's also a pretty interesting glimpse into the day-to-day thinking behind Marvel's editorial decision making. The whole thing is worth a read, but a few selected excerpts to give the flava:

By Steve Morris The Thought Bubble Convention is considered to be one of the strongest in the UK, emphasising comics ahead of film or television....

By Steve Morris The Thought Bubble Convention is considered to be one of the strongest in the UK, emphasising comics ahead of film or television....

Just in case you were wondering, last week's Farewell strip for Maakies was just another prank by creator Tony Millionaire, and the strip is still going strong. Great news! Last Thursday, Millionaire posted the above script, provoking cries of anguish on Twitter along the lines of "Why Tony, why?"

Just in case you were wondering, last week's Farewell strip for Maakies was just another prank by creator Tony Millionaire, and the strip is still going strong. Great news! Last Thursday, Millionaire posted the above script, provoking cries of anguish on Twitter along the lines of "Why Tony, why?"

________________________________________________________________ Here are the September titles from what could be considered "mainstream" publishers and distributors. Check here for previous Coming Attractions (is that an oxymoron?) Everything's subject...

______________________________________________________________ Here are some interesting titles from publishers distributed by Diamond Book Distributors, expected to ship in September 2012.  (All information is tentative.) Source PDF available...

______________________________________________________________ Here are the small press graphic novels and related books due for September.  (According to Books In Print.  Data is always subject to change.) What's...

Here's today's teaser: Dennis Hopeless. Salvador Larroca. December 2012 Paging Robert Langdon! What could this lettering mean?

You can buy a print of Ming Doyle's art here.

Hope Larson's epic comics adaptation of A WRINKLE IN TIME has barely hit shelves but she's already talking about her next projects, including a graphic novel she's written with art by Tintin Pantoja called WHO IS A.C.?. Planned as the start of a series, it debuts next spring.