§ Nice Art: I chanced upon Illustrator/Concept Artist/Taskmaster fan Kim Hu on BlueSky and WOW! More of this wonderfulness here.
§ Speaking of the decline of the bird app, I’m still a little hazy on the ethics of quoting “Skeets” as they are known, but Twitter’s deterioration into 9Chan has real business impact for many, many people. Spike Trotman noted that “My highest-referring Twitter account used to account for between 30% and 40% of a crowdfund’s traffic. Now? 5%. I’m well-insulated against the decline of Twitter as a self-promotional tool, so I’m not HURTING, but the numbers don’t lie. It’s totally collapsed.” Brutal. Thanks, Elon!
§ Keith Davidson has joined Mad Cave as Director of Marketing. The veteran of IDW, Dynamite, Avatar and Diamond will oversee all Mad Cave’s marketing efforts, with a focus on their main line and the direct market. Allison Marie Pond will handle the book market and the Papercutz and Maverick imprints.
“Mad Cave Studios has a sterling reputation for creativity, quality, and professionalism — and what it comes down to, I think, is that Mad Cave cares,” said Davidsen. “They care about storytelling, and they care about the creators. They care about doing right by their partners, staff, and — most importantly — customers. We should all be so lucky to be part of an organization that cares so much! I’m proud to join the team, especially right at this moment when they have so many mind-blowing projects on the schedule!”
“Thrilled to join forces with Keith Davidsen as he brings his many years of comic industry insight and kindred spirit to Mad Cave Studios,” said Pond. “Together, we’ll chart new heights in creativity and innovation in storytelling.”
§ I don’t pay much mind to those PR blasts that announce a mega billion increase in this or that industry, as they are mostly meant to get you to spend $$$$$ on some made up report. However, the comics industry just got blasted! With growth of $3.0842 million from 2022 to 2027.
The comic book market is expected to increase by USD 3,084.21 million from 2022 to 2027, registering a CAGR of 4.54%, according to the latest research report from Technavio. …The comic book market is fragmented and the companies are deploying organic and inorganic growth strategies to compete in the market.
But if you want to say you’re in a growing market, don’t let me stop you. (CAGR means compound annual growth ate if, like most comics folks, you aren’t into finance lingo.) the industry do.) They included a nifty chart!
§ Oh wait, Technavio ALSO foresees a $2.26 Billion growth in the Digital Comics Market from 2022 to 2027 led by the popularity of indie comics. I said BILLION!
The Digital Comic Book Market is estimated to grow by USD 2,266.18 million during 2022-2027, growing at a CAGR of 8.34%. APAC will contribute 70% to the growth of the global market during the forecast period. This region is shifting from printed books to digital books for comics, due to the growing shift publishers are likely to enter the market. Many market vendors offer digital comic books in various genres, such as science fiction, manga, and superheroes. Various series such as One Piece and Jujutsu Kaisen have created a large market for digital comic books in this region. Hence, such factors boost the growth of the digital comic book market during the forecast period. For Comprehensive details on the market size of the historic period(2017 to 2021) and forecast period (2023-2027)
The digital comic book market is fragmented; the vendors are competing with competitors and are trying to get a greater market share. The market is growing, and the chances of new entrants cannot be overlooked. The major vendors have well-established economies of scale and market presence and generally rely on positioning technological advances, and the price of the products.
What the what! Obviously this reflects the growth of digital comics in Asia, led by Manga and webtoons (generic term.) Oh and a chart! Wait, it’s kind of the same chart with different numbers? Oh well.
§ Now if you REALLY want to see sales growth, or marketing strategy, James Gunn is your man! A tweet from him about Historia, the Wonder Woman graphic novel by Kelly Sue DeConnick, Phil Jimenez, Gene Ha and Nicola Scott – along with some well selected art samples – sent the Book to #1 on DC’s Amazon sales, and a sell out. Gunn included the Amazon sales link, just like you’re supposed to do. Gizmodo noted that the book may have an influence on the upcoming Wonder Woman prequel TV show .
Historia is a breathtaking work of sequential art & one of the best things to come out of @DCOfficial & comics in the past few years. Thank you to @kellysue, @Philjimeneznyc, @geneha, & @NicolaScottArt for this incredible experience. Get it here: https://t.co/6xzF1EDrTq pic.twitter.com/oPfBQBfohk
— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) August 15, 2023
This led to more X-versation in my TL about why other influencers don’t tweet about their favorite comics to boost sales, like this sharp note from Fabian Nicieza:
Is anyone @MarvelStudios paying attention? Iman Vellani gets it and promotes the comics, but would it kill any of the other actors with a gabillion followers to post some book recommendations and move the needle for the publishing program?
§ In a profile at PW, Marjane Satrapi reveals she is done making comics . I mean she’s busy making movies now, so I get it, and she changed the game with Persepolis. Time to move on.
Comics is good, and I’ve been making lots of drawings. But I will never make comics again. That chapter of my life is behind me. And I’ve always been like that—I’m like a car that you can’t pull back. The problem with comics is—and it will sound like I’m sending myself flowers, but—from the first comic I made, I got all this press and hoopla, hoopla. I made a couple more and it was the same. It’s something I know how to do. It’s not that I know a secret ingredient—I can’t give a formula to someone else. But it’s not challenging anymore because I know how to do it. My life is about the search, not getting comfortable. I like the chaos. I’m not going to live another 300 years. I have to explore everything I can before dying.
§ ICv2 has a brief story about how the manga Okinawa by Susumu Higa was delayed because the original printer in China refused to publish it without changes.
The release of the manga Okinawa, by Susumu Higa, was delayed by a month because the China-based printer wanted to delete all references to Taiwan in an interview with the creator that was included in the book. The printer also wanted to remove references to China’s actions during World War II.
The book is published by Fantagraphics but repped by the Mangasplaining crew, and Christopher Woodrow-Butcher has more about the book here.
The story notes that other books have been delayed by content issues with Chinese printers, which is awful.
§ Speaking of newsletters, Beat retailer Columnist Brandon Schatz had a particularly wide ranging one about Image Comics, Simon & Schuster and the Perils of Private Equity Firms. He also assesses the state of Diamond, and says it’s not that bad:
Diamond isn’t great, but they are still a viable way to get your product out into the market. They still have their place in this system, if they can work through this time. Plus, they seem to be more than happy with being a wholesaler of titles to retailers hell bent on sabotaging their bottom line for one reason or another. Rumour has it, they now make a significantly better percentage on distributing Marvel than they used to in the past, and they’re still reaping the rewards of overcharging for shipping. They will never be what they were before, but they can still be something and serve this industry. If I were them, I’d be making strong efforts to help grow the smaller publishers who are looking to call them home, and to foster an environment to help them thrive. It won’t result in huge gains, but it will make the whole industry more sustainable – thus, making their business more sustainable as well.
Schatz also mentions issues with getting some of the smaller publishers that S&S distributes in Canada…problems which may have something to do with metadata. Metadata is a big problem that ComicsPRO is working to solve, and this will be a wonderful things when it happens.
§ Tom Taylor’s graphic novel Neverlanders, with art by Jon Sommariva has won the Children’s Book Council of Australia Award for Book of the Year for older readers, the first time a graphic novel has won. You got some catching up to do, Tom King.
§ Cracked interviews syndicated cartoonists Tauhid Bondia, Ray Billingsley and Steenz, noting that their work has filled some of the newspaper space vacated by the wretched Dilbert. Many newspapers cancelled that strip after racist rants by creator Scott Adams.
Billingsley: Beginning in the 1980s, I would send new strip ideas to the syndicate every year, but nothing took until Curtis. I think it clicked because it was a unique take. There were no full Black families in comic strips back then.Curtis’ family is what I wished I would have had growing up, but I still wanted some realism in there. Like, Curtis was the first comic strip where the kids actually got in trouble. Dennis the Menace always got away with everything, but I wanted to break the mold on these kinds of things. I wanted him to actually fight with his brother. There were also too many strips with the kids outwitting the parents. I wanted parents who were clever, who were onto his BS and who treated him accordingly.
§ In light of the upcoming editorial shakeup coming to Marvel’s Xbooks, IGN asks What Does Marvel’s Big X-Men Shake-Up Mean for the Comics? It’s a year out, but IGN and writer Kieron Gillen (once again in his newsletter) says not much for now.
Brevoort’s comments make it clear that Marvel isn’t planning on immediately ending the current storylines in the X-Men franchise. As he points out, the X-Men line just recently underwent a major overhaul, with The Hellfire Gala 2023 #1 kicking off a new direction called “Fall of X” and introducing some major changes to the status quo that will continue to play out in the months ahead. That’s to say nothing of the fact that Marvel is launching a number of new X-books in the near future, from a new volume of Uncanny Avengers to the Nightcrawler-centric Uncanny Spider-Man. According to Immortal X-Men writer Kieron Gillen, Brevoort’s tenure as X-editor is specifically timed to coincide with the eventual end of the current Krakoan storyline. Gillen wrote in his newsletter, “This is earlier than Marvel normally announces stuff, for reasons Tom describes, and if you’re wondering how it impacts our present plans, the answer is basically ‘It doesn’t.’ I’ve talked about the story I’m telling and its broad length, and Tom will only be in the office after that’s done.”
§ One of the “mysteries” of recent movie lore is why director Edgar Wright left Ant-Man all the way back in 2008. Well, I say mystery, but given what we now know abut the specifics of the MCU, it’s clear they don’t really go for auteurs with their own scripts. The nitty gritty has never really been revealed, but an interview with film editor Colby Parker does have some details.
First, Parker noted that Wright’s version of the film had a whopping 15 or so people in the gang aiming to pull off the big heist instead of Lang’s tight trio of Luis, Dave, and Kurt who appeared in the final cut:
“His film, it was still heist film. But remember how we have three mains. I think there were, like, 15 people within the gang, the gang that was going to do the big heist. I remember I never got to see his script. But I remember hearing that once in discussions when all the big muckety mucks were in the room… [The heist] was going to be more of a collaborative effort and more of a 15-hander than a three-hander…”
§ Are you excited for the Scott Pilgrim Anime? We are! And once again this beloved cult film is being reassessed as in ‘Scott Pilgrim’ Cast: Where Are They Now? I mean, where aren’t they? Barbie, Succession, The Marvels.
§ But along the way, we also learn that Michael Cera Was ‘Depressed’ When He Had To Leave Scott Pilgrim because this wonderful cast had become close.
“By the end of the movie, I felt like ‘This is my world, this is my group of friends,'” Cera explained. “It kinda feels like ‘Oh, this is always gonna be this way,’ and honestly I kinda was a little depressed when we were done, because it all just goes away, and you’re like, ‘Where did everybody go?’ You kinda get used to that as you get older, and as you’re acting for a while. But I was sad to lose it. I could have kept making that forever, even though it was exhausting.”
Cera was a mere tadpole of 22 when the movie came out, so it’s sad to know he was sad. 
§ Nice Art Supplemental: Humor is subjective and I think Bob Burden’s work is hilarious. It just hits me in all the right places. Here’s a Batman cover for a never made pitch back in the 80s I found floating around on Facebook. Burden writes:
A remnant from my 1980s DC pitch which would have been about doing it up as a late 50s early 60s series of stores that would champion all this oddball stores from back then, bringing back characters like Mogo the Bat Ape, the fire breathing dog and such. The world’s finest miniseries would have had Flaming Carrot joining the Batman/Superman/Robin team with amusing consequences.
Pork chops! Wonder why it was rejected.
Is there a bibliography for Kim Hu’s published comic books?
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