News

That's it -- we're wrapping up our annual look into what's on the minds of the comic industry -- from creators to retailers to publishers. Thanks to all who participated, and thank you for sticking with us. On monday, the results of our COMICS INDUSTRY PERSON OF THE YEAR voting! It's a close race and you may be surprised at the results.

Richard Alf, one of the co-founders of the San Diego Comic-Con and a busy comics dealer of the early 70s, has died of pancreatic cancer at age 59, it is being reported. While only a teenager, Alf provided financing and transportation for early con founders, as well as inspiring Shel Dorf with their shared love of comics.

MORE sneak peeks! More news! More fearless pulse-taking of the comics industry. What are you waiting for? Dive in.

We're still rolling out our titanic 2012 survey with looks back and ahead from every level of the comics industry. And lots of news buried in the 2012 projects, too if you want to find it. Previous parts; One, Two.

As we've mentioned here several times, there have been no more important graphic novels published in this century than PERSEPOLIS by Marjane Satrapi and FUN HOME by Alison Bechdel. Both found large audiences well beyond the traditional ones for comics, and both have become oft-imitated -- but never duplicated -- by book publishers trying to cash in on the "graphic novel" trend. (The number of graphic autobiographies exploring ethnic roots alone is staggering.)

Continuing our roll-out of picks, prognostications and previews from the comics industry. Part one can be read here.

First off -- something we forgot to post yesterday: pages from Charles Vess's projects for the year:

A 16 page full color graphic narrative about Istanbul, Turkey. 50 paintings for ‘The Cats of Tanglewood Forest’ written by Charles de Lint and to be published by Little Brown & Co. And my on-going work on my own book, ‘The Greenwood’ which use a combination of pure text, illustration and hundreds of pages of graphic narrative content to tell its story.

Well, that didn't take long. 2012 has claimed its first publishing casualty as Bandai Entertainment has announced they will be canceling their manga and home entertainment publishing to focus on licensing their brands as they undergo a restructuring. Their Facebook and Twitter accounts will also be shut down.

Ronald Searle, creator of St. Trinians and Molesworth and one of the great cartoonists of his generation, died December 30th at age 91, it's being reported. Searle lived a dramatic early life:

The world may be ending in 2012, but that doesn't mean that people don't have some things to keep them busy until then. In our annual year-start tradition, we asked comics industry professionals -- creators, publishers, librarians, retailers, journalists -- about the year past and the year to come. While a few huge stories seemed to dominate last year -- reboots and digital -- there was much more to it. And 2012 is wide open. Along the way, we have some previews and news tucked away in those "2012 project" descriptions. Before the end, well all have something to read. Many thanks to all who took time from the busy holiday season to answer our survey. And here's to a great 2012 for all!

Following the departure of VP of Marketing Micha Hershman, Dark Horse has promoted former director of online marketing Matt Parkinson to the post of senior director of marketing. Parkinson, a six-year DH vet, will take over the duties of overseeing DH's marketing efforts.

His long-time collaborator Beau Smith remembers Eduardo Barreto, who passed away a few weeks ago -- a remembrance accompanied by some stunning art.

Marvel has won a four-year legal battle over who owns the rights to Ghost Rider. On Wednesday a judge rejected the claim by writer Gary Friedrich, who co-created the character in 1972's MARVEL SPOTLIGHT #5 along with Roy Thomas and Mike Ploog.