Publishers

The much-beloved cult strip Barnaby by Crockett Johnson is getting a quality reprint, courtesy of Fantagraphics, The Comics Reporter reports. Eric Reynolds will edit while Dan Clowes supplies the art direction. First volume is due in April 2012. Spurge has all the history and details:

Continuing DC's rollout of promotions and restructuring, Mark Chiarello, the mastermind behind WEDNESDAY COMICS and many other much-admired projects over the years such as BATMAN: BLACK AND WHITE, has been promoted to VP Art Direction & Design. Chiarello had been overseeing most of DC's art-related output for some time, and the appointment consolidates functions which had been under several positions that were eliminated in the restructuring.

Well here we are, the final month of the year. Most publishers have already launched their big titles last month, so that titles would be...

Via the Source, DC Editor-in-chief Bob Harras has announced the new structure of the DCU, with long time editor Eddie Berganza getting promoted from group editor to Executive Editor. Group Editors Matt Idelson and Mike Marts will oversee the Superman and Batman groups, respectively, while Ian Sattler has been promoted to Director--Editorial, Special Projects & Archival Editions. The post doesn't go into details of what that will cover, but since Harras left running the recently downsized reprint department, it sounds like Sattler will be taking that over. The editorial team is rounded out by Vertigo's Karen Berger and MAD's John Ficarra-- it isn't clear if they are reporting to Harras or not, nut in any event they will be working closely.

The cycle of "the new things is awesome!" to "we are so over it!" has accelerated to mere minutes. Case in point: The Walking Dead. Only last week it was on the cover of EW with a triumphant story:

One of Dan Clowes' most admired works -- EIGHTBALL #23, aka "The Death Ray" has been out of print for a while, but rumors of a new edition have been confirmed with the announcement that a hardcover edition is forthcoming from Drawn & Quarterly in fall 2011. The story of a misfit with a dangerous weapon, it represents, perhaps, Clowes' most complete statement on the tradition of fantasy comics from which his earliest works emerged. Unsurprisingly, it's under development by Jack Black's production company, with video director Chris Milk attached to direct.

When Dark Horse announced their digital comics initiative back at NYCC, they went about it in a different way from most other publishers. Instead of partnering with an existing storefront like comiXology, they decided to use their own webstore and application to sell comics -- and at the $1.49 price point. There was also talk of add-ons that made going to the physical comics shop a part of the experience. Since then details have been sketchy, but today Dark Horse released the first information on the program, via a mailing to retailers in the Diamond Daily. A bit of the information was also released to the press, including the plan to release ORIGINAL digital material -- but only to those who purchase brick and mortar comics.

So this is what it is all about -- a new book by Joe Casey and Mike Huddleston called BUTCHER BAKER. Details and more...

The much-anticipated ALL-STAR SUPERMAN dvd is coming out in 2/22/11. Based on the popular tale by Grant Morrison, the animated film includes James Denton (Desperate Housewives) as Superman, Christina Hendricks (Mad Men) as Lois Lane, and Anthony LaPaglia (Without A Trace) as Lex Luthor, with additional voices by Ed Asner. Frances Conroy, Matthew Gray Gubler, Linda Cardellini, Arnold Vosloo, Catherine Cavadini, Finola Hughes, Alexis Denisof, Obba Babatunde, Michael Gough, and John DiMaggio. Creative credits include Bruce Timm executive producer, Sam Liu, director and Dwayne McDuffie, writer. More info here.

Now we know.

Over the holiday week, the biggest news was the official announcement thatD&Q will re-release the complete works of Lynda Barry. Next fall will actually see...

Is this wrapped up? Are you more or LESS interested in reading it now?