News

That sound you heard recently was the iPad landing in America and thousands of bookstores and comic book shops across the country closing and locking their doors for the last time. That’s what happened – right? The world changed overnight and everyone is reading all their books, magazines, comics and newspapers on a digital devices. So, wait – that didn’t happen? I can still walk into a bookstore and pick up a chunk of dead tree and enjoy a good read? Cool. The world of publishing is changing – just not as fast as everyone thinks. The biggest change is that for the first time in publishing history consumers are being asked to invest in an expensive piece of hardware to allow them to read a book. Yes, audio books require either a cassette or CD player, but those were devices that most people already owned. To read an e-book you need a new device to view the books. Reading a book on a computer just doesn’t cut it. A book is easily portable so the device also needs to be portable.

o "Getting Jerked Around by Some Editor at a Big Publisher Is Almost Like a Palette [sic] Cleanser for the Real Shit That's on Deck" Joe Casey talks in detail about his recent experiences at DC Comics, without holding back. The interview, conducted by Tim Callahan, is a must-read if you're interested in the present state of creativity in U.S. mainstream comics. I've enjoyed Casey's work since he took over Cable in stealth mode back in, oh, 1997 or something. I remember a lot of Casey comics that didn't succeed, but not many that were boring. No matter what he does, Casey is one of a select few American mainstream comics writers that keep coming up with mad, cocky idea comics and just won't compromise, no matter how often they keep running into walls and have the rug pulled right out from under them. And I love him for it, because that's precisely why a failed Joe Casey comic is still a thousand times more interesting and rewarding than anything successful by, say, Geoff Johns. He also made a film recently, titled Hit Parade. o "Pat, It’s True That You Have What Can Be Considered a Controversial Past" I don't know Troy Brownfield, and I'm not aware of what's going on at Newsarama, so maybe there's a perfectly good reason why they chose to conduct and run this appallingly, offensively spineless piece on Canadian artist Pat Lee, formerly of Dreamwave Productions, the way they did.

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:

PW is reporting that there has been massive layoffs at Viz Media -- up to 60 people or 40% of the workforce have been laid off. ... We are of course saddened by these departures and sincerely appreciate the hard work, passion and dedication of those that have moved on, but we feel confident that with these changes, VIZ Media will be more streamlined and able to withstand the climate of the economy at this time. With the American manga market already in flux, this has to be seen as a body blow to the category as Viz was consistently the best selling American comics publisher, dominating the best seller charts with such mega-hits as Naruto and One Piece. ... Sources tell PW that as many as 55 people were laid off at Viz’s San Francisco headquarters and it appears its small New York office, which had about 5 staffers, has been closed.

This blog has been getting around lately -- links on Boing Boing, Reddit, Digg, Kottke, and so on -- with a corresponding increase in commenting. Without wanting to play Dean Wormer here, I am scrutinizing the comments a bit more closely, and personal attacks, trolling and general asshatery will not be tolerated. I will PARTICULARLY not tolerate jerkishness in obituary threads because they are often read by family members and believe me, you'll thank me later. ... And to all you lurkers out there, feel free to bust out if you are so moved.

In regard to embodying his own dynamic artistic sensibilities, perhaps the only pop culture artist who could give Frank Frazetta a run for his money was Jack Kirby. These two poets of force and motion so intuitively understood the fantasies they were drawing that each established the style that would forever define their respective genres: the superhero in action for Kirby, the barbarian in action for Frazetta.

As the featured event of the 2010 Toronto Comic Arts Festival (TCAF), which is being held at the Toronto Reference Library, the evening also featured a moving tribute to pioneering Canadian cartoonist Martin Vaughn-James, who was posthumously inducted into The Giants of the North, The Canadian Cartoonist Hall of Fame, in a talk delivered by cartoonist Kate Beaton. The winners were decided by a jury comprised of Matt Forsythe (editor of Drawn.ca, winner of the 2009 Pigskin Peters Award for Ojingogo), Geoff Pevere (Toronto Star book critic; author of Mondo Canuck,) Fiona Smyth (artist; cartoonist) and Carl Wilson (editor/writer Globe and Mail, author of Let's Talk About Love: A Journey to the End of Taste). Speaking on behalf of the jury, Pevere praised the Best Book winner George Sprott as "a portrait of a character, of a country…a country that is no longer with us," adding that: ...Speaking for Wright Awards nominating committee, which chooses the annual Pigskin Peters Award, Matt Forsythe described Hot Potatoe as "a collection of seven years of work that is insulting and hilarious and sarcastic and sincere," and continued that it has "influenced a whole wave of comics and artists – myself included."

§ Johanna Draper Carlson rounds up reactions to the end of the Zuda competition model, and some speculation as to how the system may...

Via Colleen Doran comes word that htmlcomics.com has been shut down by the FBI. The site was a very popular online library of unauthorized comics scans, with hundreds of thousands of issues available at the click of a mouse:

Lots and lots of personnel announcements over the last few days.¶ Image has hired Todd Martinez as their new Sales & Licensing Coordinator. For...

I was saddened to learn this morning that frequent Beat poster Lewis "Alan" Coil died of a heart attack on Friday. He was 55.

I never met Alan in real life, and certainly he had his disagreements with many people on the internet, but he was a constant presence here and at many other sites, and obviously passionate about comics and participating in the discussion. Alan was a ubiquitous internet presence in the tradition of the great letterhacks.

On Peter David's site, Alan's friend Paul Shiple wrote:

Daniel Best interviews Gene Colan as the legendary artist recuperates from a broken shoulder. ... I should be thinking more of retirement, I suppose, but I don’t even think about retiring. I need to draw, I love it, so why should I give it up. The link includes information about other ongoing efforts to supplement Colan's income via auctions and so on.