Comics

Voting in the 2011 Inkwell Awards, honoring the best in the art of inking, has just been opened. The nominees are below; the awards will be presented...well, the PR doesn't really say. There are some amusing categories below -- Klaus Janson needs more attention and Todd McFarlane is small press -- but giving the hard working inkers of the world some props is always a good thing.

Back in August, 2010, we told you all about the story behind OBLIVION, a graphic novel concept by director Joe Kosinski (TRON: LEGACY) that was optioned to Disney Studios for a cool $500,000. It seemed like a lot of money for yet another "celebrity comic" so what was so hot about it? At the time we wrote:

As everyone has probably already heard (just scroll down the page), Rob Granito is a plagiarizing conman. He claimed to have done work for DC and Marvel, been the secret hand behind Brian Stelfreeze and, hilariously, to have worked on Calvin and Hobbes, and sold direct copies of other people's work with a few scribbles on top for hundreds of dollars. Not the usual pose tracing for a different use or character, but direct copies, with perhaps an arm moved slightly. And he did it for years. Artists known to have been plagiarized includes Jan Duursema, Tim Sale, Bruce Timm, Mark Bagley and Ivan Reis among others. As a response to this, the website Legit-o-mite.com has been started as a clearinghouse for evidence of direct plagiarism and fraud like this, on the part of Granito or any other artist.

During C2E2, I discovered some old issues of Amethyst, Princess of Gemworld in the quarter bins.  I knew of this series, but had not read any comics of the character.  I have an eight-year-old niece who loves Wonder Woman, and thought she might enjoy another super-powered princess.

The comics community is an accepting one--perhaps the most accepting. The greatest masters feel a kinship with someone who makes mini-comics, and will make time for them. It's a giving, friendly group of people who share a passion for comics and a collegial sense of belonging. But then there's Rob Granito.

Programming maven Brian Heater has posted the 2011 MoCCA panel lineup. There will be TWO tracks of programming this year, with lots of spotlights -- Al Jaffee, Jerry Robinson, Gahan Wilson, Dash Shaw, Peter Bagge, Pizza Island, Will Eisner -- a Carousel, an animation panel, and looks at most every genre of contemporary indie/alt comix. It's in some kind of table, so we can't reproduce it here, but check it out.

From Edel Rodriguez, some nice photos of last week's R. Crumb art opening at the Society of Illustrators.

Friday night's opening fro the R. Crumb exhibit at the Society of Illustrators in NYC, was -- no surprise -- jammed to the rafters with the who's who of the local scene. The man himself was on the premises but the notoriously shy cartoonist sat with Aline at a back table where only a few came to pay homage.

Regular Reason magazine contributor Peter Bagge does this month's cover, featuring education reformer Michelle Rhee. Pete was kind enough to send us the cover sans type.

Hooray! A grown woman will play the grown-up Lois Lane in the Superman reboot being prepped by Zack Snyder. Oscar-nominated Amy Adams will play the nosy reporter, “There was a big, giant search for Lois,” Snyder said of the casting. “For us it was a big thing and obviously a really important role. We did a lot of auditioning but we had this meeting with Amy Adams and after that I just felt she was perfect for it.”

ViaWarren Ellis. More here.

On Thursday, March 17, Diamond hosted their "Dialogue with Diamond" panel as part of the Diamond Retailer Summit. Roger Fletcher, Diamond VP-Sales & Marketing, and Bill Schanes, VP-Purchasing, fielded questions and feedback from retailers. Before taking questions from retailers, some data from 2010 was presented.