Yes, it’s the TRIUMPHANT return of Kibbles and Bits after a much needed vacation in Ibiza!
§ Dear lord, can you IMAGINE all the stories Kevin Huizenga is going to get out of THIS anecdote?
§ Dan Nadel investigates the new Vinnie Colletta book as ONLY HE CAN!
As Bryant explains, the controversy itself is interesting as a sociological study. The fact is, for a lot of fans Kirby served as an abstract father figure, and so reactions to any perceived desecration of his artwork can spiral into a virulent kind of hatred. There are certainly aesthetic issues (what is inking? What is the inker’s responsibility?) here, but I don’t think there are moral issues, as is often the implication. There’s nothing morally offensive about what Colletta did. Colletta was a highly competent production man: He got the books in on time, and kept the presses rolling, and in doing so he sometimes did a disservice to the artist he was inking (in the comic-book business that was more the rule than the exception. More “faithful” guys like Joe Sinnott, who inked The Fantastic Four, were unusual). When that artist happened to be Jack Kirby it’s a damn shame. Kirby was great. But Kirby knew the game and entered into it willingly. And he also knew that guys like Colletta, were, like him, doing a job.
§ Book blogger Danielle Binks presents a fine introduction to the trend of GN adaptations of Urban Fantasy novels
I am personally loving all of these graphic adaptations. I’m Australian, so the whole comic-book phenomenon is sort of over my head… but I loved the Mercy Thompson graphic novel, ‘Homecoming’, and was an instant convert to the medium. In many cases I feel more comfortable with my favourite books being graphically adapted rather than cinematically adapted. So much can be lost in Film/TV – but I feel that author’s have more control over graphic novel adaptations, and the fact that most authors are the ones writing the graphic novel means that none of the book flavour is lost in translation.
§ Sean Kleefeld stops in on the Tokyopop Tour
§ Greg Burgas presents his unified field theory of comics: “Comics: The most versatile art form?”
There’s very little that looks ridiculous in comics, whereas there’s often quite a bit that looks ridiculous in movies
§ Jevon Phillips on this year’s Pokemon championships.
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Recovered from pirates, Colleen Doran issues one of her deadly throwdowns on the “author services” that iUniverse charges ridiculous rates for.
§ We mentioned book bloggers above; now Fox is asking if the BlogHer conference is the new ComicCon:
Twentieth Century Fox is betting that BlogHer — the world’s largest conference for social networking women — is on its way to becoming the new Comic-Con. The studio’s home entertainment division is staking its claim as one of the sponsors of this year’s annual confab, which kicks off today in New York. Fox execs see mommy bloggers as the most fertile marketing demo to come along since comicbook geeks.
§ Avoid the Future interviews Drew Weing whose SET TO SEA is now out and a memorable novella among some of the year’s heavy hitters of graphic literature:
Believe it or not, I had the idea that I could knock out one panel every day – just a low-pressure side project while I worked on other things! I’d done some similar exercises in a class with James Sturm at SCAD. I think by panel 5 or so they were taking more than a day to finish. When I started researching ships and pinning down the story’s era in time, the detail level increased even more. It’s become obvious to me over the years that I’m completely incapable of dashing off a project.
§ BTW, we had not previously seen Avoid The Future, but it’s a very nice indie comics blog with good interviews and reviews. Bookmarked!
§ From last week: Douglas Wolk on eight comics that aren’t MIRACLEMAN that should be reprinted. MASTER OF KUNG FU. Isn’t Fu Manchu in the public domain yet?
§ Not comics but a cute story about twins who have written a best selling superhero fantasy novel despite learning disabilities and extreme youth.
“I’m Australian, so the whole comic-book phenomenon is sort of over my head…”
Does Australia not have comic books, or is there something about being Australian which prevents them from comprehending them?
CB, they have comics, but most are imported via Diamond. Given Customs, the variable exchange rate, freight charges, comicbook stores might face even more challenging circumstances than American stores do. There’s also not much of a history of Australian comics, no Superman or Tintin or Doraemon.
As for GN adaptations, they are reaching a broader audience than just GN readers. The Outlander GN hit the BN.com Top 100 last week (currently #248) and Troublemaker has had strong sales since it went on sale last month.
IIRC Fu Manchu, is public domain in the US, but not other parts of the world (notably, the UK).
CBrown – we get imported comic books, but they aren’t something that Aussie kids grow up reading. We don’t have many (if any?) strictly comic book stores, they are often sold at specialist book stores etc.
It’s just not apart of the Australian culture. Same way Halloween isn’t celebrated down under. You might get a few people who try and go trick or treating, but it’s very much an American “we don’t do that here” sort of deal.
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