News

Diamond has a newish website called kidscomics.com with information and even a separate Kids Comics Previews order form .pdf for those retailers who want to jump into this fast-growing market segment.

Heritage Auctions is selling the original art of Page #1, Issue #1 of WATCHMEN. You know, the "Call me Ishmael" of comics. "Dog carcass in alley this morning, tire tread on burst stomach. This city is afraid of me. I have seen its true face." The page is being sold by English designer, musician, DJ and TV host Stephen “Krusher” Joule, known for his work on albums by Iron Maiden, Ozzy Osbourne, Black Sabbath, Motley Crue, AC/DC, Deep Purple, Robert Plant and Motorhead, and a long stint as Art Director at Kerrang! Magazine. He purchased it from a comics shop for about $180 -- it is expected to sell for more than $15,000.

It's my birthday, and I'm giving myself a present. No, not a Longstreth style beard. Email escape amnesty. After looking at the thousands of...

Last week's books releases saw two blockbusters going head to head: George W. Bush's memoir, Decision Points, and Wimpy Kid #5: The Ugly Truth....

Congrats to writer Brian Wood on the arrival of Ian McMurray Wood, born last Thursday, 9 lb., 4 oz.

There have been many grassroots "cartoonist benefits" of late and the way things are going, there are bound to be many more. One of the most alarming recent calls to action was the news that Steve Rude was in danger of losing his house, and a resulting art sale. In his newsletter, The Dude reports that the house has been saved, and he's overwhelmed:

In the early days of The Beat I used to start many days with a "meta" post about my doings and very important thoughts, but that kind of personal stuff jumped the shark long ago, it seems. No one really cares about me seeing a blue lobster anymore...or rather, that's really what Twitter and Facebook are for. There's a social network for every ephemeral thought, and I now spend hours each day sharing the ephemeral thoughts of thousands of my close personal friends. In a way, it's too bad. Those were some of my most favorite posts to write -- like the time I went shopping for a mop. I guess you had to be there.

Via email, word that Charles Kochman, whose Abrams ComicArts imprint has been putting out high quality books of comics and comics history for several...

Celebrated literary figure Neil Gaiman turns 50 years old today, surely the man who did as much to make comics part of the mainstream as anyone who ever lived. He marks the occasion on his blog, of course:

With the rampaging (heh) success of The Walking Dead TV show, expect comics as episodic fodder to get a fresh look in Hollywood --...

Via email from Jeff Lemire, the exciting news that "ESSEX COUNTY BECOMES THE FIRST GRAPHIC NOVEL TO BE NAMED ONE OF THE TOP TEN ESSENTIAL CANADIAN BOOKS OF THE DECADE!" The selection comes as part of Canada Reads, a yearly literacy campaign aimed at spotlighting the best in Canadian literature. Voting was open to the public, and comics types have supported a vote for ESSEX COUNTY as a vote for comics legitimacy, but it's certainly a deserved honor. Lemire's bleak, spare tales of rural Canadian life and coming of age are timeless and powerfully told.

The Fire Dept. of New York -- and other fire safety organizations -- promote the time changes in fall and spring as a reminder to change your smoke detector batteries -- doing so saves lives and property. As someone who lost a lot of her childhood comics in a fire that was undetected by a fire alarm, I can testify that this is a really great cause and a good reminder.