Business News

About half an hour ago a memo was sent to Zuda creators announcing that the original digital comics line was being shut down. A few of the better known Zuda titles, such as I Rule the Night, Bayou and HIgh Moon will be folded into the newly announced DC Digital program.

This morning's Cup O' Joe coffee klatsch between Kiel Phegley and Joe Quesada included a lengthy segment on the whole digital royalty flap from...

A round up of other news from the week, and some follow up on other stuff....The big, big news is that the Hasting retail entertainment chain will be going into comics in a big way, bother graphic novels, which tyhey already carry, and now periodicals, including back issues. 147 Hastings stores -- mostly in the midwest, sun belt and Texas, will start up direct marketing accounts. The move follows the success of two test stores:

Lots of reaction and ripples from yesterday's announcement that DC was at long last joining the digital world with their DC Comics apps for...

Hit records and stellar nerdlebirty status aren't always enough to steer a retail ship through the shoals of hard business realities. System of a Down's drummer John Dolmayan apparently learned that the hard way, as this sale for Torpedo Comics shows. The online retailers inventory and even domain name are being auctioned off to pay creditors.

Sean T Collins rounded up reactions from creators and fellow publishers on the closure of Buenaventura Press, and it's all sad, sad sad. WE've heard bits and pieces of the story behind the story, and that's all sad too. Some of it can be pieced together with some googling, but we'll respect Alvin's wishes for privacy at this time and just reiterate out hope that he can continue to find a way to contribute to this golden age of comics art.

Via PR, electronic publisher WOWIO has purchased the webcomic site DrunkDuck from Platinum Studios. Just to make it all neat and tidy, Platinum once...

There's a new superteam in town, Calvin Reid reports at Publishers Weekly -- brought together to face a mighty foe that threatens our very...

We're not necessarily going to make a cottage industry out of running all these "record setting art sales" PR pieces, but given the recent...

As mentioned previously, we were at BookExpo America all day Wednesday, and will be there all day Thursday. The show is much smaller than in recent years -- the children's book section which once took up the entire bottom part of the Javits is now just a corner of the main floor. The Diamond alley of comics publishers seems smaller this year, as well, although Dark Horse, Image, Dynamite, IDW and Marvel are all set up, along with a few others. By contrast, Fantagraphics was set up in the Norton Booth right at the front of the hall and was practically the first thing you saw as you walked in. They are giving away galleys of Moto Hagio's HERE COMES THE SON and Joyce Farmer's SPECIAL EXITS, which we have and have flipped through, but haven't had time to read yet. Something to look forward to in life, thank God! Fanta assoc. publisher Eric Reynolds explained that he felt that this year it was more effective to pay for more galleys to give away than to have an author appearance, and given the alacrity with which people roaming the floor scoop up those galleys, it might be a good idea.

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

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: