12:00 PM, Thursday, September 2nd, 2010 - Posted by John Wilson
Phil Eisner's original graphic novel Bad Guys has been slated for release in October.
 Penned by the Event Horizon screenwriter and illustrated by Agustin Padilla, the book will be published by the up-and-coming comics firm Kickstart.
The storyline sees all of Earth's superheroes perish in an alien invasion, leaving only supervillains to ward off the extraterrestrial threat.
"I was thinking of writing an action movie. Action movies are all about the villains," Eisner told Newsarama.
"Since they're the most interesting part - your hero has to be 'generic' enough for the audience to identify with, but the villain has no such constraints - then how much more fun it would be to write an action film with no heroes? Just broken, messed up, violent misanthropes who happen to be our only hope."
Bad Guys arrives in comic stores on October 18. It will be available in retail chains from November.
Source: Digital Spy Add a reply 
| 10:00 AM, Thursday, September 2nd, 2010 - Posted by John Wilson
 IDW Publishing, an award-winning publisher of graphic novels and books, is proud to accept an astounding four 2010 Harvey Awards, presented at Baltimore Comic Con this past weekend. IDW's highly-praised reprint collection, THE ROCKETEER won three categories, making it one of the most lauded books of the awards, while Darwyn Cooke won the coveted "Best Cartoonist" award for his adaptation, THE HUNTER, continuing its awards sweep.
"To work on books like these, with such incredible talents, is a joy in itself," said IDW Special Projects Editor Scott Dunbier. "To be fortunate enough to have those books recognized by your peers and win awards? It's really very gratifying."
THE ROCKETEER, featuring creator Dave Stevens' entire The Rocketeer and The Rocketeer: Cliff's New York Adventure, was honored as the "Best Domestic Reprint Project" and also received the "Special Award for Excellence in Presentation." Laura Martin, who expertly recolored every page, was also honored as "Best Colorist" for her work on the project.
Creator Darwyn Cooke was honored as "Best Cartoonist" for THE HUNTER, an adaptation of Richard Stark's PARKER series. Cooke's second The Hunter coverinstallment in the PARKER series, THE OUTFIT, will be available on October 6, 2010.
The Harvey Awards are named in honor of the late Harvey Kurtzman, one of the industry's most innovative talents, and recognize outstanding work in comics and sequential art. Nominees and winners are voted on by anyone involved in the creative process of comics.
Source: IDW Add a reply
| 4:00 PM, Wednesday, September 1st, 2010 - Posted by John Wilson
 Following last week's rumors, Diamond Distributors today confirmed that comic stores in North America and the UK will have "the option of 'day-early' delivery of weekly product shipments" as of January 11th next year. The move follows a survey of comic retailers, Diamond says, wherein they were offered the options of Tuesday deliveries for Wednesday release, Monday deliveries for Tuesday release, or either one as long as there was day-early delivery. The company's VP of sales and marketing, Roger Fletcher, explained more in a press release:
Of more than 1,000 retailers who responded to the survey, 75% believe day-early delivery will benefit their business, while 72% believe it will benefit the entire Direct Market... The number of respondents who selected Tuesday delivery for Wednesday on-sale and the ';Either' option totaled 63%, while those selecting the Monday-for-Tuesday alternative and the ';Either' option totaled 38%. This encouraging consensus has convinced us that moving forward with day-early delivery for Wednesday on-sale holds considerable advantages for vendors, retailers, and the industry.
Diamond will also institute a "mystery shopper" program in January, to ensure that retailers do not break street date release for any products.
Source: Techland Add a reply
| 2:00 PM, Wednesday, September 1st, 2010 - Posted by John Wilson
Warning: cynical days ahead on September 29! That's when writer Stuart Moore and artist Mark Brooks proudly introduce the latest star in the Marvel Universe: Cynical Duck. It's all in the pages of SPIDER-MAN: BACK IN QUACK, the one-shot that'll have you screaming "Waaaaaugh!" all the way home.
"As we open, a sinister organization has kidnapped Howard the Duck and made a deal with Mayor J. Jonah Jameson of New York City," says Moore. "That brings Spider-Man into the story pretty quickly."Wait-did he say "Spider-Man"? That'd explain why his name's in the title, but what's his involvement with Howard, here in BACK IN QUACK?
 "It's a team-up, kind of," Moore explains. "The trick with Howard and Spider-Man is that they both use humor to deal with difficult situations, but their personalities are miles apart. Spider-Man is Marvel's everyman, an ordinary guy who pokes gentle fun in order to cope with the crazy, dangerous life he lives. Howard's humor is much darker, more cynical; he really believes this is a very screwed-up world, and his observations cut to the dark heart of that world. The big question is: Do they have enough in common to work together, when the situation gets serious?"
Rumor around the Bullpen says Howard's days as Marvel's favorite grouchy gander may be numbered, what with the advent of Cynical Duck. Moore's quick to point out the differences between the Duck of Howard Past and the Duck of Howard Future.
"Without ruining the whole thing: We live in a very cynical, jaded pop-culture world, much more so than the world Howard was created in, 30-some years ago," notes the writer. "The comic starts off with a quote from author Philip Pullman: 'Easy cynicism is no more truthful than easy optimism.' That's the difference. 'Cynical Duck' is a soulless corporate creation, but Howard is the real thing. Spider-Man has to help sort things out so Howard can be himself again."
Moore feels that in some ways he's channeling the unique voice of Howard's creator, the late Steve Gerber, which he hopes makes SPIDER-MAN: BACK IN QUACK a truly special project.
"Steve's Howard was a big, big influence on me as a writer," he says. "Howard is just one of those great, classic characters; if you can hear his voice in your head, that's half the story right there."
Moore teams with artist Mark Brooks for the big, quacking to-do, a situation he finds fraught with fun and festivity.
"Mark is a stone genius," he clamors. "He can draw anything beautifully. We worked together on CLOAK & DAGGER earlier this year and I'm just pleased that the stars aligned right again."
Not enough you say? A stellar duck-soup of super heroes, super writers and super artists falls just short of a total quack-up? How about a little Man-Thing back-up feature for good measure?
"Howard the Duck's first solo stories were in the back of-wait for it-GIANT-SIZE MAN-THING," reminds Moore. "This is our way of closing the circle. Plus it lets me work with artist Joe Suitor again; he drew a great Man-Thing in SPIDER-MAN: FEAR ITSELF, a one-shot we did together a year or so ago.
"Aside from that, Howard and Man-Thing were the two signature characters that Steve Gerber wrote at Marvel in the 70's. So the whole book is a tribute to him, in a way. Hopefully a worthy one."
Source: Marvel Add a reply
| 12:00 PM, Wednesday, September 1st, 2010 - Posted by John Wilson
New Top Cow Direct Market Liason Atom! Freeman told ICv2 that three new programs have been launched in his brief tenure in the role.
 The first is the Retailer Reader Challenge, which began as a program for ComicsPro members but has now expanded to include all retailers. The goal is to expose retailers to Top Cow's line and inform their sales of its books. Top Cow will send interested retailers six different comics from its line; the retailer is asked to read at least three of the titles and talk to Freeman about them. Participants receive $100 worth of Top Cow graphic novels free.
The second is Good as Gold, an inventory exchange program designed to build confidence in ordering Top Cow books. Direct market retailers that end up with unsold Top Cow inventory can exchange it directly with Top Cow for trade paperbacks. This is not currently planned as a temporary or limited program.
Top Cow's third retailer program is designed to encourage Top Cow endcaps, which are rewarded with materials to assist in merchandising the company's titles.
Freeman said that the programs reflect his own experience with Top Cow, and that his perception of the company had changed. "My biggest moment was when I realized that they were doing quality that I hadn't seen out of them," he said. "I'd made up my mind a long time ago that they do a certain kind of book, but Top Cow makes high quality stories." He characterized the target demo of the line as both male and female readers aged 30-40. "Top Cow crosses the gender divide better than any other superhero publisher," he said, "with titles like Magdalena, Velocity, and Artifacts."
Source: ICv2 Add a reply
| 10:00 AM, Wednesday, September 1st, 2010 - Posted by John Wilson
 ICv2 has announced the Comics & Digital Conference at New York Comic-Con.
The half-day event will see industry executives and experts discuss the impact of the rapidly growing digital market on the comics and graphic novel medium.
"This year, it seemed critical to offer an event to look at the fastest growing part of the comics and graphic novel business to examine where it is, where it's going, and what it's going to do to print," said ICv2 president Milton Griepp.
"Everyone in the industry, from creators to publishers to retailers and librarians, has an interest in this topic."
The event will include guest speakers from the major digital comics companies and graphic novel publishers.
The conference will be held at the Javits Center on October 7.
Source: Digital Spy Add a reply
| 8:00 AM, Wednesday, September 1st, 2010 - Posted by John Wilson
There aren't many things I love as much - or more - than comics, aside from my friends and family. Music is one of those things. Whether it's discovering a new artist and wearing out their album, catching a show in the city or shuffling through my own music archives to find that perfect track for a mix CD, music is something that's constantly on my mind. If you're foolish enough to follow me on Twitter, you know this. Heck, I'm probably listening to some music right now.
So, the idea of mixing my two passions - comics and music - together not only sounds good on paper, but in reality. DC Comics has produced a number of amazing books, televisions series, cartoons and more over the last 75 years. But never before have all the essential sounds and songs from these shows been collected in one place. Well, now they have.
It starts in 1941, with the theme to the classic Fleischer Superman cartoons and moves through the years, including shows and movies like BATMAN, THE NEW ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN, LOIS & CLARK, BATMAN BEYOND, SMALLVILLE, THE BATMAN and a ton more, all on one compact disc - with 21 of the 31 tracks available for the first time ever.
The collection, which hits stores later this year, is a must-buy for any fan of DC Comics and it's various television, film and cartoon interpretations. Scroll down for the track listing and album art. I know I'll be popping my copy in once it arrives.
The Music of DC Comics: 75th Anniversary Collection
1. Superman March - Sammy Timberg (1941)
-Previously unavailable. Digitally remastered. From the Academy Award Nominated cartoon series "Superman" produced by Max Fleischer. This was the first Superman cartoon.
2. Theme From Superman (Album Version) - John Williams (1978)
- From the live-action film "Superman." Digitally remastered.
 3. The New Adventures of Superman - John Gart (1966)
- Previously unavailable. Digitally remastered. From the Filmation cartoon "The New Adventures of Superman."
4. Lois and Clark / The New Adventures of Superman - Jay Gruska (1993)
- From the live-action TV Series "Lois and Clark". Digitally remastered.
5. The Adventures of Superboy - John Gart(1966)
- Previously unavailable. Digitally remastered. From the Filmation cartoon "The Adventures of Superboy."
6. Superboy - Kevin Kiner (1988)
- Previously unavailable. Digitally remastered. From the live-action TV series "Superboy."
7. Smallville Season 8 (End Title) - Louis Febre (2008)
- Previously unavailable. Digitally remastered. From the live-action TV series "Smallville."
8. Batman: The Electrical Brain - Lee Zahler (1943)
- Previously unavailable. Digitally remastered. From the live-action serial "The Batman." This was the first filmed appearance of Batman.
9. The Batman Theme (Album Version) - Danny Elfman (1989)
- From the live-action film "Batman". Digitally remastered.
10. The Adventures of Batman - John Gart (1967)
- Previously unavailable. Digitally remastered. From the filmation cartoon "The Adventures of Batman."
11. Batman TV Series Theme - Neal Hefti (1966)
-From the live-action TV series "Batman". Digitally remastered.
12. Batman: The Brave and the Bold - Andy Sturmer (2008)
-From the cartoon "Batman: The Brave and the Bold". Digitally remastered.
13. Batman Beyond - Kristopher Lee (1999)
-From the cartoon "Batman Beyond". Digitally remastered.
14. Molossus from Batman Begins - Hans Zimmer & James Newton Howard (2005)
-From the live-action film "Batman Begins". Digitally remastered.
15. Justice League of America - John Gart (1967)
- Previously unavailable. Digitally remastered. From the Filmation cartoon "Justice League of America."
16. Super Friends - Hoyt Curtin (1973)
- Previously unavailable. Digitally remastered. From the Hanna-Barbera cartoon "SuperFriends."
17. The All New Super Friends Hour - Hoyt Curtin (1977)
- Previously unavailable. Digitally remastered. From the Hanna-Barbera cartoon "The All-New SuperFriends Hour."
18. Justice League Unlimited - Michael McCuistion (2004)
- Previously unavailable. Digitally remastered. From the cartoon "Justice League Unlimited."
19. Legends of the Superheroes - Fred Wener (1979)
- Previously unavailable. Digitally remastered. From the live-action TV special "Legends of the Superheroes."
20. The Teen Titans - John Gart (1967)
- Previously unavailable. Digitally remastered. From the Filmation cartoon "The Teen Titans."
21. Aquaman - John Gart (1967)
- Previously unavailable. Digitally remastered. From the Filmation cartoon "Aquaman."
22. Swamp Thing - Christopher Stone (1991)
- Previously unavailable. Digitally remastered. From the live-action TV show "Swamp Thing: The Series."
23. Shazam! - Norman Prescott & Yvette Blais (1974)
- Previously unavailable. Digitally remastered. From the live-action TV series "Shazam!"
24. The Flash - John Gart (1967)
- Previously unavailable. Digitally remastered. From the Filmation cartoon "The Flash."
25. Green Lantern - John Gart (1967)
- Previously unavailable. Digitally remastered. From the Filmation cartoon "Green Lantern."
26. Green Lantern First Flight - Robert J Kral (2009)
-From the animated movie "Green Lantern: First Flight." Digitally remastered.
27. The Atom - John Gart (1967)
- Previously unavailable. Digitally remastered. From the Filmation cartoon "The Atom."
28. Hawkman - John Gart (1967)
- Previously unavailable. Digitally remastered. From the Filmation cartoon "Hawkman."
29. Plastic Man Comedy Adventure Show - Dean Elliott (1979)
- Previously unavailable. Digitally remastered. From the Ruby-Spears cartoon "The Plastic Man Comedy/Adventure Show."
30. Wonder Woman The Animated Movie End Title - Christopher Drake (2009)
-From the animated movie "Wonder Woman." Digitally remastered.
31. Wonder Woman - Charles Fox & Norman Gimbel (1976)
-From the live-action TV series "Wonder Woman." Digitally remastered.
Source: DC Source Add a reply
| 8:00 PM, Tuesday, August 31st, 2010 - Posted by Chuck Moore
All-new comic series from award winning fantasy author Coming in November!
 Acclaimed novelist and Hugo and Nebula award-winning author of The Song of Ice and Fire series, George R.R. Martin, has teamed up with IDW Publishing to release an all-new miniseries, entitled DOORWAYS. Based on his pilot script for a television series that never was, DOORWAYS offers Martin's science-fiction genius in an initial four-issue series. Martin and artist Stefano Martino bring this reality-bending tale to life starting in November.
"DOORWAYS was the great 'what if' of my career, the television pilot that was right on the edge of being greenlit to series... but in the end was not. I spent a year and a half of my life with Tom and Cat, writing about them, thinking about them, making plans for their adventures. It broke my heart when it all came to naught," said Martin. "But now, at last, thanks to IDW and the talent of Stefano Martino, the world will get to share some of those adventures. And even better, the comics format will allow us to do things with the story and the visuals that we would never have been able to do on television! I couldn't be more excited."
Every issue of DOORWAYS treats Dr. Tom Mason, and fans, to the very definition of terrifyingly incredible, as doors open to worlds that are twisted mirror of ours. Said DOORWAYS editor Mariah Huehner, "One of the most interesting is a world with no oil. Which is pretty timely."
DOORWAYS follows Dr. Tom Mason on a multi-dimensional journey as he tries to solve the mystery of Cat, a strange, feral young woman who pops up in his E.R. one night, injured and barely able to communicate, except by ripping off limbs.
Wearing rags that nearly disintegrate, Dr. Tom is drawn in the girl's strange fears, until he discovers that "Cat" is a person of interest to the government, and a very odd group of "people" that don't seem to be from around here... "here" being our dimension...
"Working with George on this project is a lot of fun," continued Huehner. "It's a dark sci-fi/fantasy, that's not unlike the Twilight Zone in terms of taking an ordinary person and suddenly confronting them with very bizarre events and people. Tom is a total "good" guy, loves his girlfriend, likes his job, and just wants to help people. But when Cat shows up she turns his comfortable world upside down."
Artist Rebecca Wrigley will provide incentive covers for each issue of the initial DOORWAYS series.
George R.R. Martin's DOORWAYS #1 (of 4, 32 pages, full color, $3.99) will be available in stores in November. Diamond order code SEP10 0362.
Source: IDW Publishing Add a reply
| 1:00 PM, Tuesday, August 31st, 2010 - Posted by John Wilson
The Joker isn't going to be wild about this, but there will soon be not one, but two Batmen defending Gotham City.
 After years toiling as Bruce Wayne's wingman in the comic-book series, Dick Grayson -- better known as Robin -- will now share top billing with the Dark Knight, DC Comics told The Post.
Grayson had already unofficially taken the reins as the Caped Crusader while Bruce Wayne was lost traveling through time (don't ask), but upon his return to Gotham City in October, Wayne decides that just one Batman isn't enough.
In fact, two might not be enough either, DC publisher Dan DiDio said.
"Bruce Wayne realizes that he can't just be the grim avenger he was before," DiDio said. "He wants to be more aggressive in his reach, and realizes the change that Batman as a symbol can effect around the world."
In the new title, "Batman Inc.," Wayne does what any billionaire would: build a Starbucks-style franchise of Dark Knights.
"Without giving too much away here, we wanted to show how Batman can have a global influence," he said.
Joining the two Batmen will be Bruce Wayne's troubled son, Damian, who had already taken on the role of Robin after his father disappeared.
"So aside from the new interaction between the two Batmen, there's the interesting relationship between Bruce Wayne and his son," DiDio said.
To avoid confusion between the two Batmen, Grayson's costume features just the black bat logo, whereas Wayne's will include the black bat over a yellow moon.
As for Grayson, the Boy Wonder is now all grown up, DiDio said.
"Grayson's role really is the protector of Gotham City," he said. "But we thought it only made sense for Bruce Wayne, a billionaire, to take a more global view
Source: NY Post Add a reply
| 9:00 AM, Tuesday, August 31st, 2010 - Posted by John Wilson
Mark Waid has spoken out in defence of comic book piracy through filesharing websites, Bleeding Cool reports.
 During his keynote speech at the Harvey Awards, the writer said that that copyright should be about putting work into the public domain, rather than protecting corporate interests.
The Irredeemable scribe went on to say that filesharing will lead to a culture of sharing, and that the industry should embrace the concept of the public domain.
"Culture is more important than copyright," he said, adding that "there are more ideas in one week at your comic shop than three years in Hollywood".
Waid's remarks were met with opposition from cartoonist Sergio Aragones, which allegedly resulted in a verbal disagreement between the two.
The Harvey Awards took place in Baltimore on Saturday. A full list of winners is available via its official website.
Source: Digital Spy Add a reply
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