Quote Of The Day: Gary Tyrrell On Webcomics

Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Editorials,

“And then maybe we’ll all finally come to the conclusion that no, the money isn’t online, it’s in the merchandise and the collections, and the same damn thing has always been true for syndicated strips. One last time for those at the back: Sparky [Charles Schulz] or Jim [Davis] or whichever megasuccess you wish to discuss did not become richer than God off of syndicate checks. The money came from getting the people who read the strip (and essentially paid nothing for it) to buy other stuff with characters on it.”

- Webcomics blogger Gary Tyrrell at Fleen, once again laying it out for the people who don’t get it, that the business model for webcomics is no different from that of newspaper comics. No. Different.

Don't forget to check out our other notable quotes!

[Artwork: Snoopy merchandise]

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Weekend Reading: Apes, Captain America and Spongebob Squarepants

Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Conventions, Editorials, Movies, Reviews, DC Comics, Independent, Marvel Comics,

If you’ve been following the post Comic Con International discussion about female creators and DC Comics, you should run over to Fleen and read Gary Tyrrell’s take on the matter.

Apes: My pal Rich Handley gets himself interviewed at Newsday about Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes.

Fan: My funny book acquaintance David Seidman was profiled recently in Jewish Journal. All I can say is that the interviewer would probably be overwhelmed by the San Diego con.

Actors: Chad Michael Murray of One Tree Hill has written a graphic novel that Archaia will publish.

Click to continue reading Weekend Reading: Apes, Captain America and Spongebob Squarepants

R.I.P. Wizard Magazine

Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Editorials, Image Comics, Wizard Entertainment,

Okay, who had Comics Buyer’s Guide in the Last Comics News Magazine Standing pool?

CBG is now the longest-running continuously published comic book magazine and they’ve survived all comers. Overstreet’s Fan, Hero Illustrated, The Comic Reader, The Mirkwood Times, The Comics Journal, and now Wizard.

In case you haven’t heard the news, Wizard Magazine officially shut down last week, sending its staff packing.

Wizard was lucky - they caught the wave of the 1990s comic book bubble and the launch of Valiant and Image and then helped increase that bubble (Gareb was at the first official meeting of the Image Comics founders at Marc Silvestri’s Malibu beach house way back in the early 1990s).

Once the gravy train of million-selling comics derailed, and the internet took away the need for a news magazine, Wizard’s been struggling to remain a viable publication. Watching them flail around for the past decade has not been pretty. I knew a couple of good people who worked for the magazine in those early years and they've long since gone onto other things.

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Weekend Reading: Joe Casey, Thor, Dr. Spektor and Drew Friedman

Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Editorials, Movies, DC Comics, Dynamic Forces, IDW Publishing, Independent, Marvel Comics,

The War on Christmas is nearly done for another year, and there’s just enough time left for the War on New Year’s. Let's see what you should be reading this week:

Joe: This is simply a great, honest and open interview with Joe Casey, comic book writer/creator and co-creator of Ben 10. Perfect holiday reading from interviewer Tom Spurgeon at The Comics Reporter.

Thor: So there’s some controversy from an all-white group that’s upset that Marvel has cast an actor of color to play a Norse God in Thor. Ricky Sprague at Project Child Murdering Robot has a thought or two.

Polly: Animator Michael Sporn is happy that Dean Mullaney’s new book has arrived (as am I). Polly and Her Pals: the Complete Sunday Comics 1925-1927 comes from Dean’s The Library of American Comics via IDW.

Click to continue reading Weekend Reading: Joe Casey, Thor, Dr. Spektor and Drew Friedman

Weekend Reading: Star Blazers, Shazam! And Monty Python

Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Editorials, Interviews, Movies, Television, DC Comics,

Movies, TV, and video games! This week had it all. And even some stuff about comic books. Let’s take a look:

Star Blazers: There’s a new live-action Star Blazers movie coming, and Forces of Geek has 7-minutes of it. You know you want to see it, twice.

Mike Grell: Here’s a short interview with the writer/artist on Warlord and Jon Sable Freelance. “Grell plans more with his popular Jon Sable character and has hopes that Starslayer may make its way to the movies.”

New Comics Friday: Gary Tyrrell at Fleen catches up on some webcomics he was previously unaware of.

Raven: Comic Book Resources is reporting that the CW is interested in a TV series on the mysterious Teen Titans character. This is a way better idea than Aquaman or Green Arrow. I also like it because that means my pal Marv Wolfman gets some checks (as does George Perez) for creating her.

Click to continue reading Weekend Reading: Star Blazers, Shazam! And Monty Python

Comic Con International 2010: I’ll Be There

Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Conventions, Editorials, Independent, Marvel Comics,

So once again, I’m going to the San Diego con. I mean, Comic Con International in San Diego.

Oh, I know what you’re thinking – the noise, the crowds, and oh all that non-comic book stuff. The cosplayers, the Twi-hards, the (gasp) movie and TV people. Well, I don’t care – I welcome them all. And if the hardcore funnybook fans need to bitch and moan that the con “isn’t about comics anymore,” well that just sounds like the nerd equivalent of “get off my lawn.”

Here’s a link to the con website that has all the programming events for each day. I took that list and sorted it by just comics-related programming and here’s the result. Honestly, there are so many that you’ll be the star of your own private Walking Dead mini-series before Friday’s over.

Click to continue reading Comic Con International 2010: I’ll Be There