Weekend Reading: Borders, Barnes & Noble, Batman & Thor

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

Borders Books is finding no takers in its quest for a buyer, so unless a miracle happens, they’re probably toast.

So it’s a good thing they paid all those retention bonuses to people who can’t make anything happen for them.

Their main brick-and-mortar competition, Barnes & Noble, is currently looking like the smartest girl in class. They’ve gotten a $1 billion (with a “b”) offer from Liberty Media.

They probably aren’t interested in the books or the stores, but since Liberty has a lot of old school media holdings, the one thing they lack for modern-day exploitation is Nook technology.

Let’s go elsewhere for good reading:

Batman: Want to know a cool digital-only comic you could be reading for just 99¢? DC’s got one: Batman: Arkham City #1 by Paul Dini & Derek Fridolfs and artist Dustin Nguyen.

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Captain Action Winter Special

Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Reviews, Dark Horse Comics, IDW Publishing, Independent,

Beau Smith and Eduardo Barreto make a great comic book team, a kind of one-two punch of writing and art. Of course, you already know this if you've put down some cash for Cobb: Off The Leash (IDW) or their recent graphic novel, Wynonna Earp: The Yeti Wars (also IDW).

They're back at it again with Moonstone Books' latest Captain Action title, Captain Action Winter Special. Beau and Eduardo have teamed up for a Captain Action Classified story called "White Lies."

Beau wrote it, and Eduardo illustrated and colored it. In this 13-page extravaganza, the Captain mixes it up with spies, commies, a Yeti (they make great villains, and Eduardo draws an impressively dangerous one), and a traitorous gal.

As always with Beau and Eduardo, the dialogue pops and the action never lets up. They make Captain Action a real man of action, a James Bondian character who rocks the blue jumpsuit and Captain's hat. There's another story in this issue, too, where Cap meets the Green Hornet (not Seth Rogen). But "come for the Beau/Eduardo, and stay for the GH."

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Weekend Reading: Dick Tracy, Grim Ghost, Wonder Woman & Bully

Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Editorials, Reviews, Television, DC Comics, IDW Publishing, Marvel Comics,

Is there enough money to get Ricky Gervais to host the Eisner Awards this year? Please tell me there is. In the meantime, enjoy this link-based goodness:

Tracy: Here’s a nice profile of Mike Curtis and Joe Staton, the duo taking over the Dick Tracy strip on March 14. Bonus: the article features a 2-panel sequence from the Tracy strip by the new guys. I’m in! [Link: Daily Cartoonist]

Bonfire: Heidi at Comics Beat has the first part of a solid, smart interview with Ed Catto. You might know him as the Captain Action guy, but he’s also one of the guys behind the new comic-related advertising agency, Bonfire.

Tony: Mr. Tony Isabella has found a new comics writing home for himself over at the relaunched Atlas imprint. He’ll be co-writing the Grim Ghost, a series he worked on back during its original incarnation. Tony’s a good writer with an excellent sense of story & structure and he writes some snappy dialogue. I’m going to get this.

Click to continue reading Weekend Reading: Dick Tracy, Grim Ghost, Wonder Woman & Bully

Weekend Reading: Stan Goldberg, Steranko And Villains & Vigilantes

Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Editorials, Interviews, Reviews, DC Comics, Image Comics, Independent,

Let’s roll...and punch 2011 in the face!

Writers Without Borders: J. A. Konrath, an excellent writer and a smart guy especially on publishing subjects, has some thoughts about the current spiral of Borders bookstores.

Comix: The Forbidden Planet blog introduces me to a new “underground” style newspaper available in London. “The tabloid size is absolutely lovely for reading comics. It’s something our ancestors knew so well, but we’ve forgotten it over the years.” I really want The Comix Reader to succeed, so if you’re living over there, go get one.

Sci-Fi: My old friend Scott Bieser has a new webcomic that he's started called Quantum Vibe. I'm bookmarking it and you should too.

Archie: Blogger Steven Thompson at Booksteve’s Library reviews Archie: The Best of Stan Goldberg: “Unlike the usual Archie house style, his Betty and Veronica look different from each other, with Betty in particular showing a unique cuteness when drawn by Stan.”

Click to continue reading Weekend Reading: Stan Goldberg, Steranko And Villains & Vigilantes

Wynonna Earp: The Yeti Wars OGN

Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Editorials, Reviews, IDW Publishing,

Wynonna Earp is back and up to her ear muffs in Yetis, Bigfoot, mad science, vampires and Russians. IDW has just released Wynonna Earp: The Yeti Wars in glorious full-color hardcover.

Written by creator (and friend of the blog) Beau Smith and illustrated by Enrique Villagran, this original graphic novel marks a return to comics of one of the best characters to emerge from the independent comics scene in the 1990s.

Wynonna - a descendant of the famed gunfighter Wyatt Earp, though probably better with a gun - is a U.S. Covert Marshal. She specializes solving paranormal crimes - and fightin' and shootin' paranormal criminals. Think female Tommy Lee Jones working for the X-Files.

Beau wastes no time getting right to the story. Wynonna is tracking mad scientist Dr. Robidoux who’s busy splicing human and animal DNA Dr. Moreau-style and winds up in the middle of a paranormal range war between The Consortium of Immortals (”the top of the Freak Food Chain”) and The Vampire Nation.

Beau has called WE:TYW “a light-hearted stake through the heart of depressing, boring comics,” and it is, but it’s much more than that. It’s fun, it’s thrilling in an edge-of-the-seat way and there are twists and turns by a writer fully in command of his story.

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Comic Book Jobs: Beau Smith Gets Library Card

Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Editorials, IDW Publishing,

Writer, Marketer and all-around Good Guy Beau Smith has been announced as the new Director of Marketing for IDW’s Library of American Comics imprint. LOAC’s Creative Director is Dean Mullaney and it’s not the first time these two have worked together; Beau was Marketing Director for Dean’s Eclipse Comics back in the 1980s.

The Library of American Comics specializes in archival reprints of some of the best comic strips ever, including Dick Tracy, Terry and the Pirates, Rip Kirby, Bringing Up Father, Little Orphan Annie, King Aroo, Bloom County, The Family Circus, Li’l Abner, and Archie. They’ve even won a couple of Eisner Awards for their quality work. I love their Noel Sickles book and I can’t wait for the one on Alex Toth.

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Weekend Reading: Wonder Woman, Alex Toth, NYCC and Star Wars

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

Doesn’t everyone who’s not there wish they were at the New York Comic Con this weekend? Or is it just me?

Big announcements all across the board. Marvel and DC are cutting prices which won’t boost sales enough for the Big Two to make the same amount of money. But it’s good news for non-Big Two publishers who can try to tap into the money customers are saving and steer it their way. I’m looking at you Boom!, Dynamite, Moonstone and IDW.

DC’s also cutting the story count down to 20 pages. Since there aren’t that many paid ads anymore, anyone want to wager on when the $2.99 printed comics go from 32 pages down to 24 to further reduce costs?

And in the wake of his supervisor stepping down, Bob Wayne‘s been given a promotion and stays in New York. Well played.

At Project Child Murdering Robot, Ricky Sprague has some thoughts about the new Wonder Woman TV series in development by David E. Kelley (Ally McBeal; Boston Legal). His advice: “Please don’t shy away from her glorious bondage past.”

Toasting Toth: Who doesn’t love Alex Toth? John Kricfalusi posts panels from a really nice story and breaks down his love for it.

Toth II: Daniel Best at 20th Century Danny Boy has some great information of Alex Toth and the artist’s time in Australia. Bonus: lots of Toth artwork.

Click to continue reading Weekend Reading: Wonder Woman, Alex Toth, NYCC and Star Wars

Wynonna Earp Is Coming Back!

Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Editorials, Reviews, IDW Publishing,

What do Bigfoot, Vampire Nation, Yeti, and Russian Immortals have in common? They’re all appearing with Wynonna Earp in Beau Smith’s upcoming original graphic novel, Wynonna Earp: The Yeti Wars illustrated by Enrique Villigran, and published by IDW.

All I can say is “about damn time.” You can quote me.

Wynonna Earp is, in case you haven’t guessed, related to ol’ Wyatt himself. She’s a US Covert Marshal, only instead of hunting bank robbers and “hoss thieves” like her famous relative, she’s after more dangerous, contemporary game: Paranormal lawbreakers. As Beau says, “There’s nothing normal about paranormal crime.”

In this all new graphic novel, debuting in December, Beau and Enrique are dropping Wynonna into the middle of a “paranormal range war” between Russian Immortals and the Vampire Nation. Beau clarifies, “There are four Bigfoot in this book as well as a tribe of Yeti, The Vampire Nation, A Consortium of Immortals and a Mad Scientist that likes to splice animal and human DNA. How’s that for a Monster kitchen sink?”

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