Cockamamie Queens convention center plan scuttled for now
Looks like we'll be slogging over to the Javits Center for a while yet, as NY state Governor Andrew Cuomo's plan for a giant convention center in Queens has fallen apart for now. The reason? Negotiations didn't go so well with Genting, the Malaysian casino company that would have funded the plan in return for building a giant casino adjoining the facility:
To Do This Tuesday: CBLDF Book Expo Party with Chip Kidd
Book Expo America is this week, so if you're finding yourself in NYC, now's your chance to take part in meeting CHIP KIDD and get your hands on a limited edition copy of his new book, BATMAN: DEATH BY DESIGN.
Video from Space
BY JEN VAUGHN - Last month, Logan Kugler lit a fire under our butts about sending Star Trek figures into space! One small step for plastic . . . you get it.
To-do: Comics Portfolio Reviews On The Road
Like any good cartoonist and comics evangelist, a road trip cannot just be days of blasting Mates of State and stopping at roadside attractions like Corn Palace. No, no, on my trip from The Center for Cartoon Studies in White River Junction, VT to Fantagraphics in Seattle, WA will be punctuated by a few stops to conduct portfolio reviews and drop off some Schulz Library tote bags at great comic book stores across America.
Weekend reading: Saturday Morning Webtoons
J. Bone! J. Torres! Eric Orchard! Agnes Garbowska! All these cartoonists and more can be found at Saturday Morning Webtoons, an all ages comics portal. Among the strips featured:
To Do Tonight: Henry & Glenn Forever Release Party
Come out and party with the boys from Igloo Tornado tonight as they celebrate the release of a brand spankin' new Henry & Glenn Forever mini from Microcosm Publishing at LA comics shop The Secret Headquarters.
Coolest thing of the day: superheroes in historical photos
Indonesian pro photographer Agan Harahap has taken his love of history and superheroes to make this Flickr set of superheroes looming in various historical moments.
You'll want to check out all of them because they are incredibly evocative. Above V herds surrendering Germans on June 9, 1944, in the wake of D-Day. Below, Darth Vader helps out at the signing of the Yalta Pact, where Churchill and Roosevelt would sign over Eastern Europe to Stalin.
Gotham Preacher takes to the streets of Brum to spread the gospel according to...
We're not quite sure who this nutter is, but he knows his Batman. In this video, he's taken to the streets of Birmingham, UK to comfort those who have walked in the valley of the shadow of Arkham.
It definitely makes sense, once you put it all together.
Preview: No Man’s Land by Blexbolex
London-based Nobrow reveals their June release: NO MAN'S LAND, a breathtaking visual journey into the inner psyche of one man.
The Situation comic is "fully charged and ready to go."
Because there were not enough well-muscled guys in comic books, Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino is getting his own comic book, to be published by Wizard World and MPS Entertainment. The cover for the book—which will be released at Wizard World Chicago—has just been revealed and it's by Greg Horn. The interiors have been fashioned by Paul Jenkins, Talent Caldwell, and Paul Mounts.
How helping the Jack Kirby Museum could be the best response
Creator/publisher Zak Sally weighs in on the Kirby Matter, and the actions he suggests are more proactive:
actually, over the course of writing this, i think i DO have an answer– not THE answer, but an idea anyway: it’s somewhat presumptive on my part, and it is NOT what “should” happen, but it falls under the category of “the least you could do”.
The Wall Street Journal's Comic Book Smack Down
In theory, it was supposed to be a review of "Leaping Tall Buildings: The Origins of American Comics" by Christopher Irving and Seth Kushner. While Tim Marchman does reference the book a few times in his review of the book for the Wall Street Journal, it's really more of a rant about the failure of the mainstream direct market to capitalize on the popularity of comic book movies. With the fervor you normally expect from a theater critic, Marchman proceeds to rip all sorts of people a new one. And, on the side of restraint, he does stop just short of calling the community inbred.
