News

Dynamite has landed a new comics license in Pathfinder. Pathfinder, if you're not current on role-playing games, is a sort of spin-off of Dungeons & Dragons. Essentially, the D&D 3.5 rule set is available for licensing via a "Game System License" and Pathfinder jumps off from that point. Tor talks about Pathfinder as being like D&D "3.75" and an alternative to the latest rule revisions to the mother ship.

Tony DeZuniga, co-creator of Jonah Hex and The Black Orchid, has passed away at age 71. He suffered a stroke in April and had been battling a series of health problems since then. DeZuniga was a seminal figure in the "Filipino Invasion" of the '70s and '80s which saw artists like Nestor Redondo, Alex Nino, and Alfredo Alcala entering the US market. He helped introduce many of the artists to US editors and then served as an agent for several years. Like most of the artists in this wave, DeZuniga was an impeccable draftsman who could draw just about anything. He's best remembered for his contributions to the barbarians and Westerns of the day, but he also drew romance, adventure, superhero, horror....like we said, he could draw anything.

Some rambling thoughts that have been rumbling around my head this week. Don't expect it to make any sense.

As previously noted, we were guests the other night on Comic News Insider's gala 400th episodealong with Ben Templesmith, Chriss Cross, Becky Cloonan, Paul Pope, Emma Hayley, and many more. And we were there to announce a new partnership between CNI and The Beat!

Daniel Best digs up the bankruptcy court proceedings for Todd McFarlane Inc. and notes that the $2.2 million settlement includes $1.1 million set aside for the "Gaiman Settlement (Class 4)." As Best notes, this is not necessarily the amount of money that Neil Gaiman received, since lawyers fees were to come out of the money.

As we mentioned a few days back, DC's East Coast publicity department has been severely depopulated, first by the surprise departure of VP David Hyde, and the simultaneous ankling of publicity manager Josh Kushins, who left for a new job in California, we're told. Kushins had been at DC for about a year.

Over the weekend, Cory Marder passed away after a long illness. The wife of Beanworld creator Larry Marder, Cory was best known to a small group in the industry, but loved by everyone she touched. Charles Brownstein has a beautiful tribute here that says everything. My heart goes out to Larry on this irreplaceable loss.

Saturday night saw the Stumptown Awards handed out by host Bobby "Fatboy" Roberts as part of the annual festival. And here they are!

The Bonfire Agency came on the scene a year ago with some great ideas for giving all levels of the comics industry more information; this month they are spotlighting one of the best, FanPan, a consumer input panel of 500 pop culture users and influencers. It's free to join FanPan, but brands and products can then avail themselves of FanPan input to test how their products will be received by the highly vocal and internet-savvy early adopters.

Well, things got a little more interesting. After a two-year hiatus, Devil's Due publishing just announced they have returned—and they'll be distributed by Damond which is a bit of a surprise because Devil's Due had previously pulled out of Diamond with some hubbub. But you know, this is comics, and squabbles are rarely eternal.

We're looking for a few good people to help cover this year's San Diego experience. What you get: a press badge. What you do: write.

Second Joe Sacco item of the day! The Oregon Book Awards honored graphic novels for the first time this year, and Joe Sacco has won for FOOTNOTES IN GAZA, his most recent journalistic comic investigating a possible massacre in Palestine in 1956.