Culture

Just to send you off on your weekend, here's Eric Powell of THE GOON with a hilarious and yet sobering video on what is really going on in the comics industry.

When it was announced that Stan Lee would be "creating" a bunch of superheroes to represent the 30 NHL hockey teams, it kind of whizzed by in the blizzard of such announcements of projects Lee was working on this year -- he's surely the world's busiest octogenarian. However, as the characters are unveiled in anticipation of this weekend's NHL All-Star Game where they will "come to life" via some unholy method, it's becoming clear that these characters may in fact be his Clarinet Quintet, his Black Paintings -- a twilight exploration of the themes that have preoccupied his work for a lifetime.

With the Comics Code all but buried, what ever happened to the CMAA's priceless archives of historical documents?

An astonishing icepunk adventure by the great French cartoonist Jacques Tardi is coming in March from Fantagraphics. It looks incredible.

That's the original from "Silver #22" but the reimagining by Robert Goodin is even more disturbing -- please click on the link to enjoy! But we couldn't help wondering...what is this "Silver"? An early comic by Jim Woodring or Hans Rickheit? The work of an unknown cousin to Fletcher Hanks? Or a spin-off from KRAMERS ERGOT? Surely only the fecund imaginations of a contemporary indie cartoonist could imagine a calfskin giving birth to an Indian, face first, through a large vagina in its throat. Right?

Gabrielle Bell is cartooning about her experiences with bedbugs in a strip called "Nocturnal Guests" and it's funny and creepy. Here in NYC, the herpes of furniture is an ever present threat hanging over the heads of even decent folks. For a packrat like us, bedbugs would be the end of life itself. It's getting so you just cross the street when you see a mattress on the sidewalk.

Join us for a spin around the internet and dig into SEC filings that explain what Wizard's business plan is now.

In light of yesterday's announcement of James Kochalka being appointed "country's first ever" Cartoonist Laureate in Vermont, it appears that one other state has previously named a cartoonist laureate, Chad Carpenter. And what state would that be? Alaska. That's right, the 50th state in terms of population density per square mile named a Cartoonist Laureate before states like Oregon, Washington, California, New York and the ever-burgeoning Vermont. These states are pregnant with cartoonists, illustrators, animators and graphic novelists. When asked about the erroneous credit The Center For Cartoon Studies co-founder, James Sturm, stated, "I should have known. Alaska is the only state in the country that has a longer cartooning season than Vermont." For those down south, cartooning season lasts as long as there is snow on the ground and whiskey in your mug.

Last week the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced the winners of the 4th Annual International Manga Award. The International Manga Award - the...

While the industry reacted with equal parts nostalgia and disdain to yesterday's announcement of the end of Wizard nagazine (see next post), and quite rightly pointed out all the harmful, childish attitudes it enshrined, we'd like to dwell for a moment, if we may, on the magazine's one very positive legacy: all the great people who worked there.

An AP story flooded the wires with a total spoiler on the death in this week's FANTASTIC FOUR #587. We blanked out the name here but click on the link if you MUST know:

By Jen Vaughn -- What do you do with a man with a wild mind of his own and a pair of drawing hands that just won't quit? You make him KING.

James Kochalka is the one of forerunners of autobiographical diary comics with his syndicated comic, American Elf, which is also available online and began way back in October, 1998. He is also the creator of other excellent comics like irreverent SuperF*ckers and children's books like the Johnny Boo series and most recently, Dragon Puncher. His comics are published by Portland-based comics publisher, Top Shelf.