Comics

Fine. You heard about some cancellations. You heard about Marvel Now. There's a few more interesting things in today's Marvel October solicitations. For my money, the most significant non-trumpeted news is the debut of the Dexter comic. Yes, Dexter the serial killer from the long-running Showtime series. And it's written by the novelist who created the character.

Brian Wood and Carlos D'Anda have been announced as the creative team for a new Star Wars series debuting next year, from Dark Horse Comics.

The fifth nominee for this year's Russ Manning Award is Dave Wachter, the artist for Night of 1000 Wolves, That Hellbound Train, and several other less-ominous sounding comics.

Andrei Molitiu, he of Abstract Comics fame, is moderating afascinating sounding panel, along with Mark Badger. that looks at Jack Kirby and the abstract art.

Say goodbye to nine of Marvel's titles! Marvel Now! ushers in a new world without the Fantastic Four, Iron Man, or... Rogue/Gambit.

For all you stay at homes who are sick and tired of endless San Diego talk, we hope to provide a distraction or two. Like KUTIKUTI, a Finnish comics anthology. You can download all the issues as pdfs. We've always found Finnish humor to be equally fatalistic and merry, and so is KutiKuti.

Sometimes you get a fuller story when the solicitations are announced, and today would be one of those times. Let's start out with another primary creative change: Dan Jurgens is taking over Firestorm:

The AVENGERS VS X-MEN crossover continued in May, while NEW MUTANTS and JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY had their own little private event with "Exiled". There's also the launch of the new FURY MAX title, the weekly mini HULK SMASH AVENGERS, more flogging of the undead horse with MARVEL ZOMBIES DESTROY!, and the return of Icon's TAKIO. As usual, Marvel had the largest share of the North American direct market, though by a smaller than usual margin - they led DC by 39% to 37% in unit share, and 35% to 33% in dollar terms.

Teagan Gavet is the fourth of the nominees for this year's Russ Manning Award, for her work on the original graphic novel Nordgard: On Thin Ice

This morning's Marvel teaser suggests that the new Marvel NOW! relaunch will be tied in with the Point One program which saw various series get a ".1 issue" that was new-reader-friendly. The program did quite well, we're told. Details will be revealed at the Cup O' Joe panel, Friday, July 13th, 3:15 PM PST. This move solidifies the "jump-onable" nature of the Marvel NOW! program.

After a long testing period, and a lot of controversy along the way, Diamond and iVerse are finally going live with Diamond Digital on July 23rd. The program will allow Diamond accounts to set up their own digital storefront, sell download codes and otherwise engage in the digital sales that everyone thought would kill comics but which has, instead, led to growing sales. The program has been in beta for some time now, with some lively feedback from participating retailers. Publishers represented in the program include IDW, Image, Archie, APE, Arcana, Bluewater, BOOM!, Broadsword, Hermes, Sea Lion, Top Shelf, Viper Comics, and Within Temptation—Marvel and DC have yet to opt in.

You can squarely file this one under hype, but it is also of interest for you sales chart followers. The original digital comic THE LOOKOUTS, by the Penny Arcade crew of Tycho and Gabe, Cryptozoic's Cory Jones, Ben McCool, and artist Robb Mommaerts is currently the number #3 digital comic at comiXology. Here are the top ten as of midnight Sunday: