Publishers

Thor is all around, no need to fake it.

Now this is smart! After FCBD, Dark Horse is making its free comics available for free download for a limited amount of time. Downloads will be available starting Wednesday, May 11, and run through the end of the month. Criminal Macabre/Baltimore and Avatar: The Last Airbender/Star Wars: The Clone Wars will both be available via computer, Mac iOS device on the Digital.DarkHorse.com, or via the Dark Horse Comics bookshelf app.

To no one's surprise, THOR scored a hit at the weekend box office topping the domestic till with $66 million, adding up to a worldwide gross of $242 mil. The thunder "god" lagged only IRON MAN and SPIDER-MAN's debuts, making the third biggest first appearance for a Marvel character. (But NOTE the others didn't have the benefit of inflated 3D ticket prices. It was also proof that a film can make a big debut despite two weeks of piracy: THOR opened two weeks ago overseas to take advantage of various local holidays and the Royal Wedding 3-day weekend in Britain. Although THOR also handily blasted the Mel Gibson come-back vehicle, THE BEAVER, it was not all good news:

A while back we predicted Chester Brown's I-was-a-john memoir, PAYING FOR IT, would be one of the most talked about graphic novels of the years. Surprise! We called it! The Star looks at the book in light of Brown's run for Parliament on the Libertarian ticket

Well, now we can't say we don't know what this movie is about!

NOT inked with a giant pen but incredible nonetheless, 10 pages of Jim Woodring's first ever Frank graphic novel, CONGRESS OF THE ANIMALS. For those unfamiliar with Woodring's work, it is set in a strange world of hope and cruelty, where strange creatures enact tales as deep as time, not even needing words. Few artists of any kind have ever limned the subconscious with such terrifying accuracy and beauty.

In an interview that would be notable enough just for talking about his new Frank graphic novel CONGRESS OF THE ANIMALS, Jim Woodring drops even more bombshells, revealing that the giant steel nib pen -- which the world watched created with bated breath -- is not very easy to ink with.

In an interview that would be notable enough just for talking about his new Frank graphic novel CONGRESS OF THE ANIMALS, Jim Woodring drops even more bombshells, revealing that the giant steel nib pen -- which the world watched created with bated breath -- is not very easy to ink with.

We all know Green Lantern is HOT. The comic, the movie, Ryan Reynolds. Blackest Night set the DCU on a whole new course, and the GL family of books under the guidance of Geoff Johns, has continued to lead the sales charts. But in Green Lantern hot enough to start a small electrical fire? Yes.

Via The Source word that THE RISE OR ARSENAL by J.T. Krul, Geraldo Borges and Marlo Alquiza and GREEK STREET's Ajax storyline by Peter Milligan and Werther Dell’Edera, have won PRISM awards which recogonize the "accurate depiction of substance abuse and mental illness: prevention, treatment and recovery in film, television, interactive, music, DVD, and comic book entertainment."

The Dark Horse comics app has been live for 48 hours and the reviews are starting to come in as is some info on what's selling. While you can't get sales figures from Apple, they do list a running top ten of in-app purchases for all commercial apps. Here are the DH best sellers as of about noon today:

A couple of updates on the dispersion of various Tokyopop books, print and digital.