Publishers

It's the 90s and the "Bad Girl" era of comics all over again, as Dynamite announces they have acquired the Chaos Comics library which in cluded such titles as Evil Ernie, Chastity, Purgatory, and so on. Lady Death, the best known character from Chaos, was not included in the deal. Chaos flourished in the 90s under publisher/chief creator Brian Pulido. Various characters from their library have been controlled in recent years by Tales of Wonder, Crossgen, Devil's Due and Avatar.

Manga's very bad month continues as it was revealed today that DC is shutting down its manga line, CMX. Rather than make any official...

We haven't quite been following this story but some other folks have. It seems that a bunch of "legacy" characters at DC who were...

Jill Thompson's Scary Godnmother has become something of a Halloween classic, with two animated specials that are still shown on Caqrtoon Network, and a...

More leaks from the set of GREENLANTERN, this time, via Splash Page, Ryan Reynolds in his mocap suit. Aside from noting how fit Reynolds...

Ever since the cutbacks at Viz on Monday, the online chatter has been surprisingly quiet. People close to the situation have mainly been in...

Image has just released information on a new Corey Lewis concoction -- this time a saga of garden fruits and the aliens who look...

As word of the layoffs at Viz spread yesterday -- 60 people laid off and the entire New York branch closed -- the reaction around the industry, at least as expressed by Twitter and Facebook status updates -- was complete and utter shell shock. Viz personnel we contacted for confirmation were devastated. While the exact cause of the downsizing and the effects it will have on Viz's publishing plans are just emerging, a few manga reporters were commenting:

PW is reporting that there has been massive layoffs at Viz Media -- up to 60 people or 40% of the workforce have been laid off. ... We are of course saddened by these departures and sincerely appreciate the hard work, passion and dedication of those that have moved on, but we feel confident that with these changes, VIZ Media will be more streamlined and able to withstand the climate of the economy at this time. With the American manga market already in flux, this has to be seen as a body blow to the category as Viz was consistently the best selling American comics publisher, dominating the best seller charts with such mega-hits as Naruto and One Piece. ... Sources tell PW that as many as 55 people were laid off at Viz’s San Francisco headquarters and it appears its small New York office, which had about 5 staffers, has been closed.

Alarming but true: IDW and Desperado are teaming to publish this account of Dean Haspiel's early comics and life story. The tale will be...

Some dude was walking by the Green Lantern movie set in new Orleans and totally got lucky with this photo of Peter Sarsgaard as villain Dr. Hector Hammond. In the comic, Hammond is one of those guy--with-a-giant-deformed-head--who-rides-around-in-a-chair types who are so prevalent these days, a problem caused by a run-in with a meteor back in the day.

Lots and lots of personnel announcements over the last few days.¶ Image has hired Todd Martinez as their new Sales & Licensing Coordinator. For...