May It Please The Court…
The New York Times spotlights a new comics blog investigating Superhero law.
Law and the Multiverse: Superheroes, Supervillains, and the Law investigates how everyday law...
Farewell, Dirk
While I was off the grid, the Blogfather Dirk Deppey announced via Twitter that he had been laid off by Fantagraphics:
I've been laid off...
Kalinara and Ragnell return
Fandom's deadliest duo are back: Ragnell (Lisa Fortuner) and Kalinara (Melissa Krause) are two writers who founded the link blog When Fangirls Attack and set off a whole generation of conversation and outrage. A few years ago they passed WFA to others due to real life stuff -- Ragnell is in the Armed Forces, and Kalinara was in school -- but it's kind of foundered since they left -- two posts explaining why there are no posts since October. So R&K are back with a NEW link blog Dispatches From The Fridge,
Quote of the day: Nick Gazin on CAGES
This book reminds me of the past, but not in a wistful, thinking-back-on-your-first-time-getting-laid way. It’s more a first-time-getting-caught-jerking-off-by-your-mom sensation.
-- from NICK GAZIN’s COMIC BOOK...
Comics Interview archival reprint coming from CO2 Comics
Back in the days when comics media was on paper, there was the Comics Journal, the Comics Buyer's Guide, and Comics Interview. Edited by David Anthony Kraft, in the magazine's 150 issue run, just about anybody who was of note in the comics industry of the '80s and early '90s was interrogated. It's a treasure trove of historical material long unavailable (unless you happen to be rooting through The Beat's storage unit) but the revamped Comico is changing that with a POD reprint project that is available now for $34.95 -- the whole project will run 11 books, and each volume will be offered in a regular and deluxe edition, as well as paperback and hardcover.
Creators review corner: Brian Chippendale on Gene Wolfe
This wide-ranging interview with noise cartoonist Brian Chippendale covers his old classics MAGGOTS and NINJA, and his new classic, IF 'n' OFF, and also
the Fort Thunder alumnus' reading tastes:
How almost to: Embedding comics
Gareth Hinds is a very accomplished artist (and former Xeric winner) whose comics adaptations of classic literature have found a home at Candlewick Press. His full color Odyssey adaptation just came out, and there's a nice story about it in today's PW.
While we were looking around for some art to illustrate the story, we came on Hinds' own page for the book and were struck by the "embeddable comics preview" on the page, which he said was developed by Candlewick:
Candlewick has released a short preview, using some new "widget" technology which enables it to be easily embedded in any blog or webpage. There are still a few rough spots in the implementation, but it's pretty handy. See below -- and feel free to repost it elsewhere!
Does the man have a point?
So Darwyn Cooke got caught on video saying that superhero comics should "...stop catering to the perverted needs of forty-five-year-old men." He called out rape, children being forced to eat rats, explicit sex, foul language, and a lack of new characters. And now some people are getting upset. Oh come on, like you've never thought any of that.
Unfortunately the whole thing got derailed by his swipe at turning Batwoman into a lesbian, which came off as rather homophobic to some. Personally, I have to admit, I read it more as the character continuity issue of a man who likes his Bronze and Silver Age comics, which is somewhat humorous, given that he's complaining about comics being ruled by the whims of forty-somethings, but he is large, he contains multitudes. (To which I say, Darwyn, it wasn't "overnight". She may have been around since 1956, but she hadn't made any significant appearances since Crisis on Infinite Earths which basically changed everything. SEE? I can be as big of a geek as you are.)
So let's break this down from the point of view of someone who is not forty five or male -- me.
Download this: The Imp by Daniel Raeburn
Daniel Raeburn has made the entire four-issue run of his 1997-2002 fanzine The Imp available for PDF download. Single topic issues on Dan Clowes, Jack Chick, Chris Ware and Mexican historietas generally defined the direction of all future scholarship on such topics and this is one of the finest and most influential bits of comics scholarship/criticism of the last 20 years. So go download for your iPad or whatever.
TRIPWIRE has new issue
TRIPWIRE Magazine, the excellent comics magazine edited by Joel Meadows, will have a new issue out in time for you-know-what. PR Below.
TRIPWIRE is back...
Online media stuff
News of two new comics-related web-sites, one featuring two veteran bloggers; the other a weekly newsmagazine.
Heavy hitters of blogging join The Beat at C2E2
Hey kids: If you're going to be at C2E2 tomorrow night, make sure you come to the obligatory comics blogging panel:
Comics Media
As the internet,...
