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Initial orders for The New 52 are in and JLA #1 has more than 200,000 pre-orders, and six other #1s have more than 100,000 pre-orders.

For the third year in a row, Phil and Kaja Foglio's Girl Genus won the Hugo Award for Best Graphic Story for Girl Genius, Volume 10: Agatha Heterodyne and the Guardian Muse. The awards were presented this weekend in Reno, NV.

Many reports tonight via Twitter that the Atomic Comics chain in Arizona is shutting down, and confirmed on an employee's Facebook page. The four store chain, owned by Mike Malve, was one of Diamond's biggest accounts and a huge, progressive retailer known nationwide for its signings and aggressive, innovative promotions. Atomic and its logo were included prominently in the KICK-ASS movie, after Mark Millar became a fan following a signing. The four stores were located in Phoenix, Mesa, Chandler, and Paradise Valley.

Live from Baltimore

So, this weekend in Anaheim (home of Disneyland), the D23 Expo is taking place. Dedicated to All Things Disney, this show will feature Marvel Comics for the first time, with appearances by Joe Quesada, Kevin Feige, and Marvel creators. Joe Quesada will be hosting a panel on Sunday, at 10:15 AM. I hope someone pulls a "Batgirl" and questions Mr. Quesada about the "legends" of Marvel, and how Marvel honors their contributions to Marvel's legacy. Given the concentrated nature of the fan-fest at "The Happiest Place on Earth", it is very unlikely. So I'll ask them here!

Remember manga? It's still around, even if it isn't the juggernaut it was in the olden days. The big, big news in manga this week was the launch of Jmanga.com, best described as what if Marvel, DC, Random House, Dynamite, and Fantagraphics all teamed up to create their own comiXology. After years of sitting around anxiously watching piracy take a toll, the top Japanese publishers have finally banded together to create their own LEGAL online portal. The site just launched this week, and there been a ton of talk. J.K. Parkin has a great round-up of much of the reaction but it hasn't been universally loved:

The nominees for the 2011 Ignatz awards have just been announced. The nominees represent the best of indie comics and were selected by a five person panel consisting of Rina Ayuyang, Mike Dawson, Kris Dresen, Theo Ellsworth, and John Porcellino. Winners will be selected by attendees of the Small Press Expo and presented at the gala Ignatz Awards ceremony held on Saturday, September 10, 2011 at 9:00 PM with host Dustin Harbin. Multiple nominees include Edie Fake, Michael DeForge, Sammy Harkham and Carol Tyler.

Is the comics shop a typewriter or a ball point pen?

My last post explored how continuities between the cover image of Action Comics #1 and subsequent material could give DC a substantial part of the copyright in the original Superman.  One question left unaddressed, however, was the issue of Clark Kent, not to mention other key elements of Superman’s character and mythos appearing in that historic first issue. In this post, let’s take a quick look at that question and the role it could play in bringing this case to an end.

Despite a lukewarm (or "dismal" as the LA Times put it) box office reception which is blamed with helping Disney get cold feet over The Lone Ranger *, COWBOYS & ALIENS will live on via licensing, if Platinum Studios has anything to say about it. A new press release has announced a deal with KKM Global Brand Strategies which will license all aspects of the property. Oh, except the movie.

An oddball story that has only been seen on comics sites because it contains the word "cartoonist" or "cartoon" and keeps showing up on everyone's google news dump, is still fairly incredible in its own right. However to really get all the excitement you probably need to live in Renton, WA., a quiet Seattle suburb that was rocked by a scandal involving cartoon mockery of the police department.

Robert Kirkman's Skybound imprint at Image -- which includes Kirkman's own books and some new ones like WITCH DOCTOR and SUPER DINOSAUR -- will be getting Asian distribution via a deal with Moving Images, an international media company headquartered in Singapore and Los Angeles.