Publishers

The awesome new process blog Comic Tools has weekly posts on process that make it worth a look for anyone, but this post on Hawkeye's bad archery is also a blast. The original post at Wired has Jeremy Renner's form as a complete fail, and even a dummy can see that Merida's (from Pixar's upcoming BRAVE) form is way better than Hawkeye's.

Well, here's a cool idea. The WOMANTHOLOGY anthology which garnered a ton of money on Kickstarter and a ton of attention everywhere will be spun off into an ongoing comics series which will feature three-issue themed minis. The first theme is SPACE and contributors include Blair Butler, Fiona Staples, Jessica Hickman, Bonnie Burton, Ming Doyle, Stacie Ponder, and more. The book was announced at the Womanthology panel at WonderCon. Unlike the anthology, which was a benefit, contributors will be paid for their work. So, that's all done and dusted then.

Cursing the basketball gods because your bracket is broken? Searching for a tournament bracket which better suits your knowledge base? We present a multitude of 2012 non-sports tournaments, from popular culture, food, and corporate America!

Brian Wood used to be known as a Vertigo writer. Axel Alonso used to be known as a Vertigo editor. When Wood's time at Vertigo ended, did you think Brian and Axel might have a chat? Maybe.

Being announced at Wondercon right now: what's going on with Avengers Academy and the Avengers Vs. X-Men Event.

Spinning out of the Spider-Man panel at Wondercon, we have two announcements: the next Spidey arc (and villain) and a Punisher mini-series that's a bit different from the monthly.

Howard Cruse is one of the groundbreaking cartoonists of the last 30 years, with his iconic BAREFOOTZ and WENDEL—the latter a pioneering gay-themed comic that ran in the Advocate—and his founding GAY COMIX, an underground anthology. His STUCK RUBBER BABY was one of the early post-MAUS examples of the graphic novel coming of age as a literary medium. And that's just the highlights of a long award winning career. Now Boom! Town is bringing out THE OTHER SIDES OF HOWARD CRUSE, a thick hardcover which includes his work from the light-hearted Barefootz strips, his take on Nancy and Little Lulu, and the iconoclastic sheep Shearwell going on a “trip” or two, and other underground comics. The book is available in May. Boom has provided us with an exclusive preview -- and yes, this story is VERY NSFW.

Steve Gerber died in 2008. Four years later, his final Man-Thing story is coming out. Doubtless, this would have gotten a sardonic retort from Gerber, so let's all pause a moment and let you imagine it. Felt good imagining that, didn't it?

I know I said no more John Carter, but the appearance in my inbox of an email from Disney marketing announcing the existence of a clip and a poster for Woola, the faithful Martian Calot who steals every scene he's in in the the film, is just so odd!

Huh, well, this is innovative. It seems Katchoo will turn into a zombie and Francine will have to hunt her down. No, that isn't it.

Vampirella wasn't the only reoccurring character from the old Warren comic magazines. One of the supporting characters in Vampirella was the shape shifting Pantha. In June, Pantha will be spinning off into her own book, written by Brandon Jerwa (G.I. Joe, the Shield) and illustrated by Pow Rodrix (Justice League).

[Although one of the best selling comics authors of the past decade, Brian K. Vaughan keeps a low profile—you won't find him writing in his blog or posting previews on his social media platform of choice. He also tends to take big breaks from the comics format to concentrate on his high profile film and TV work. But that was until this week's debut issue of SAGA came out. Already creating buzz and selling out, the collaboration with Fiona Staples is one of a several prominent new comics this year featuring creators moving from the Big Two to the creator-owned experience. And Vaughan has been making the interview and show rounds because that's how you sell comics in this day and age. He might not even need it. The early reviews are stunningly positive. This interview was conducted a few months ago, just as the book was being solicited, and since we hadn't talked in a while, it was a chance to catch up on a few other matters, as you'll see.]