The Shonen Jump Alpha website has posted a list of 10 Things We’ve Learned From Bakuman, the manga about making manga. The list items are short, illustrated with panels from the manga series, but it’s hard to argue with the wisdom of lessons like “It’s a Tough Field to Make It”, “Being a Mangaka’s Really Tough on Your Social Life (Except with Other Mangaka)”, and “If You Don’t Try, You’ll Never Succeed.” Even though the series is about manga, much of this applies to comic-making as well.

Where Bakuman differs from the usual stories we hear about aspiring comic creators is in its use of a team — a writer and artist who are separate people — and its emphasis on the virtue of editors. The insight into how the Japanese manga industry works is the book’s strongest virtue, in my opinion. It’s a key reminder that there’s no one right way to make comics.

It was kind of weird watching a movie with such a specific timeframe on a spring Sunday afternoon, given how much it fetishizes the magic of the titular holiday. The earlier Valentine’s Day had more universal appeal, since that holiday is more anticipated by more people. Everyone wants to be in love then, while most sane people I know don’t want to be anywhere near Times Square for New Year’s.

New Year’s Eve

There are lots of likable actors involved, but I would have enjoyed this more if I was more of a Jon Bon Jovi fan, since he plays a rock star everyone’s crazy about, except for his ex (Katherine Heigl — and she really is the brand marker for this kind of movie, isn’t she?).

The plots are sitcom-ish: An overprotective single mother (Sarah Jessica Parker) can’t cope with her daughter (Abigail Breslin) growing up. A pair of opposites (Ashton Kutcher, as a comic book artist, and Lea Michele, as a singer) get trapped in an elevator. The woman running the ball drop (Hilary Swank) is afraid of heights. An expectant couple (Seth Meyers, Jessica Biel) wants to be the first to have the New Year’s baby. A woman (Michelle Pfeiffer) who just quit her job is trying to complete her bucket list with the help of a courier (Zac Efron). They all play out as you’d expect, with few surprises.

Now, a few days after seeing it, I don’t remember much of it at all — yet I know a couple of people who want to borrow my DVD, just to check it out. It’s comfort viewing, where we all know exactly what we’re going to get.

The special features include a commentary with director Garry Marshall, which I didn’t listen to, and a gag reel, half of which has already been included in the bloopers shown during the credits. The Blu-ray edition has all the extras, with three short promotional featurettes with cast and crew plus deleted and extended scenes with Marshall’s commentary. I bought the DVD because I didn’t really want more of this film.

I really liked the first issue of this new color series, and I was curious to see where Ted Naifeh would go in Courtney Crumrin #2. He took us in a direction I didn’t expect, by flashing back to many of the same events of issue #1, but this time showing them from the perspective of Holly, the new girl. (Note, even, that the covers are something of a reversal to each other in positions and facings.)

You might fear this would seem repetitive, but it’s not. Instead, it deepens both the new personality and the world she and Courtney inhabit. Instead of simply being a new antagonist for the title character, Holly now has her own motivations and desires. Some of her actions, cast as villainy in the first issue, are more understandable and even relatable.

It also supports what I’ve seen as the theme of this series, the idea that perception matters. What seems wrong or bad might not be when you understand more about the choices behind the decisions or when you take the perspective of someone unlike you. It’s an argument for tolerance, basically. Even monsters can be understandable, and people on opposite “sides” may have a lot in common.

Specifically, we see just how much Holly is like Courtney — only a younger Courtney. Holly needs to learn some of the same lessons, and Courtney simply saying, “Don’t do that” isn’t enough teaching. We also get to meet more of the kids Courtney took revenge on in the past. We may have been rooting for what she did, especially if we read previous stories, but we weren’t previously encouraged to think about what their lives would be like now and whether the punishment was commensurate. It’s a fascinating new take on a long-running setup that provides food for thought for new and old readers alike.

Gina Biggs, whom I’ve talked to in the past about her series Red String, has launched a Kickstarter project to publish her fairy tale comic Erstwhile.

The project has well exceeded the original goal with, at the time of writing, 23 days left to go. The main release will be a 136-page color hardcover collecting five lesser-known fairy tales. (One of which, “The Farmer’s Clever Daughter”, I previously reviewed when it was a stand-alone comic.) Another $2,000 in pledges, and two more short stories will be added to the book.

The stories are illustrated by Biggs, Louisa Roy, and Elle Skinner, and they’re told in the grimmer, more original versions. A $20 pledge will get you your own print copy in September. Higher amounts offer original art or extra comics. Or you can just read the webcomics.

Josh Neufeld, who’s been creating non-fiction comics for forever — I reviewed his travel collection A Few Perfect Hours back in 2006 — has been deservedly recognized with a journalism fellowship. He’s the first recipient of this award and only the second comics journalist to receive an American journalism fellowship of any kind.

Neufeld has been offered a 2012–2013 Knight-Wallace Fellowship in journalism at the University of Michigan, a program that, as he describes it, “gives mid-career journalists a chance to pursue customized sabbatical studies for a full academic year. The program includes twice-weekly seminars, as well as training in narrative writing, multi-platform journalism, and entrepreneurial enterprise. Fellows also make two extended international tours to Buenos Aires, Sao Paulo, and Istanbul.”

Neufeld will be researching Bahrain’s Pearl Revolution, a subject he’s already written about briefly, with the aim of creating a long-form graphic novel. Neufeld most recently created A.D.: New Orleans After the Deluge and has illustrated The Influencing Machine: Brooke Gladstone on the Media and Titans of Finance: True Tales of Money & Business.

The Avengers continues setting box-office records. Last weekend, its second in U.S. release, it brought in over $100 million, which set a second-weekend record and took it to one billion dollars overall. It’s now the 11th biggest moneymaker ever, and it’s still climbing.

But there’s more to life than money. Tom Spurgeon reminds us that the film wouldn’t exist without the contributions of many creators. His recognition of the men behind the movie provides short profiles of the comic artists and writers who came up with these characters and their team combinations.

The Bryan Hitch-drawn Ultimates served as inspiration for the movie version of the Avengers.

Tom Spurgeon also checked in with two charities benefiting from fan giving in connection with the film. The Hero Initiative has taken in almost $3000, while the Jack Kirby Museum received $1300 last week.

Meanwhile, in KC’s latest Westfield column, he praises the film for getting the blend of humor and action right. KC also looks back at some other superhero movies that weren’t quite so successful, descending instead into silly.

It’s wonderful to be able to go through the minicomics I brought back from this year’s MoCCA Fest and recall how much fun I had at the show. Here are some of my highlight acquisitions.

Urban Nomad

I enjoy Alisa Harris‘ Cooking Up Comics, so I was eager to try her minicomic series Urban Nomad.

The comics contain short pieces, moments from her life as an art student in New York City, with emphasis on the urban environment. I like the balance between the dream of being a creator in the most exciting place in the country and the reality of the struggles to survive there. Some of the incidents are widely universal — such as working in a bookstore or the depression of a cubicle job — while others are particular to the region, as when dealing with a persistent subway masher or a particularly agressive pet cat or a mice infestation. They’re not all bad — I liked the reminder of how diverse international grocery stores could be. She also talks about forming a domestic partnership and even includes a short piece on how she got into comics.

Harris’ art really appeals to me. It’s got a clean line and a great sense of movement. I wasn’t surprised to find out that she’d been an animator, since she has the flow breakdown skills that comes from that kind of work. The only suggestion I have for improvement is to include the story titles on the pages themselves. Her works flow into each other, and sometimes I only recognized the distinctions based on the table of contents.

What’s Normal Anyway?

Morgan Boecher’s webcomic What’s Normal Anyway? tackles being a trans male with jokes and observation. He’s got a good sense of humor about a very tricky subject, but the comic also works to increase awareness of what it might be like to be in such a situation. There are all kinds of little notes that can only be expressed by someone who’s been there and knows. Funny and educational, which makes for a neat discovery.

This minicomic contains the strips from the beginning through August 1, 2011, which covers Boecher’s last year of college in Florida. I don’t see a Store link on Boecher’s site, so I don’t know if he’s offering it online yet. I hope to see a sequel volume at next year’s show; in the meantime, the strip updates every Monday.

(Update: I’ve been informed that a store section should be added to the website this summer.)

As the Crow Flies

This first chapter of Melanie Gillman’s new story, about a queer black teen girl who finds herself in an all-white Christian summer camp. It’s being serialized online, but the print version has a few more pages than are up on the website so far.

This is another case where I can’t find a link to buy the minicomic online; maybe the author considers it unnecessary, or maybe the convention show and online audiences are considered different enough there’s no point in offering the same things to them, or maybe the print version exists only to have something to sell in order to make back table fees. Either way, it’s a trend I’m just noticing, and I need to talk to more creators about it. Then again, perhaps artists just don’t want to manage a mail order business.

Anyway, Gillman’s colored pencils are gorgeous and beautifully textured, while the story subject fascinates me. Charlie, our protagonist, is distinctly an outsider, and the idea of an all-girl backpacking trip is a good one to draw her differences into sharp focus while demonstrating achievement. It’s terrific to see such a female-centered story presented in such normal fashion. I want to be part of this group of characters.

I admire Gillman for taking on the question of religion as well. Many creators aren’t willing to cover it, or treat it in flat, two-dimensional ways, but that’s not the case here so far. It’s a motivating force in so many people’s lives that I welcome seeing it in comic stories.

Rockall

Rockall is an Irish island in this dialect-driven folktale by Amelia Onorato. Tommy is newly arrived to work a croft, but the widow and son of the former farmer are still living there. She’s said to be a selkie, searching for her seal skin so she can return to the sea, her home.

What we have is a charming story about the nature of small towns and outsiders. It’s plainly told, which is just what it needs, conveyed in a style that suits its characters, hardy island folk. Onorato has a good sense of black. The woman’s long black hair and dress pick her out among the panels, and other items of clothing ground the characters on the pages.

At first, I thought Tommy was going to be the typical naive youngster setting out for life on his own, but he’s got more intelligence and know-how than I gave him credit for. The series runs as a webcomic as well. It’s a wonderful story, and I look forward to seeing how it plays out.

Happy Punks

John Seven and Jana Christy, who once upon a time back in the day brought us the Very Vicky comic, are dipping toes back into the medium with this little book of Happy Punks teaching us how to barter.

It’s brightly colored, as though a children’s book for aspiring anarchists, with a cut-paper assembly look. The story is simple, as one character trades silly objects in order to get the guitar string he needs, but reassuring and pleasant, a reminder that there are more ways to get through life than selfishly.

There will be more Happy Punks coming out later this year and next, apparently, and I’ll be happy to see them. It’s being exposed to this kind of alternate world view that expands minds and keeps us young.

So Many Moons

Billage, based on his website, loves the ocean, and that feel of time spent at the shore comes through in this experiential portrait of a summer day. Pages are made up of fragments of observation and moment, scattered. I think the activity shown is called kiteboarding, but it’s not explained so much as shared. It requires some work from the reader to puzzle it out if they’re not already familiar with the activity, but once immersed, it seems fun.

The Smut Peddler Kickstarter has, at the time of this writing, more than doubled its goal of $20,000. It’s currently sitting at just over $47,000 with 15 days left to go.

I wrote about this project when it launched, but for new readers, Smut Peddler is a female-friendly porn comic anthology that will pay bonuses to the contributing creators based on eventual funding level — the more the project makes, the more the artists make. Additionally, all the stories in its over 350 pages were fully or partially created by women.

Participants include Jess Fink (Chester 5000XYV), the now Eisner Award-winning Carla Speed McNeil (Finder), EK Weaver (The less than Epic Adventures of TJ and Amal), Harvey Award nominee Steve Horton (“Amala’s Blade” for Dark Horse Presents), Erika Moen (DAR!, Bucko), and many, many more! Everyone’s been paid for their work, but more money raised means more bonuses for the artists.

Since the Kickstarter launched, the project has added new pledge levels, with original art packages (pages by Amanda Lafrenais or Kel McDonald) added at $35,000 and original commissions by EK Weaver (sold out), Blue Delliquanti, Rennie Kingsley, and Carla Speed McNeil (sold out) added when it passed $40,000. At $45,000, which was reached last night, an Erika Moen book package was added, but it has since sold out as well. There’s still one special-edition limited messenger bag available, as well as three chances to be drawn on the book’s back cover. There’s also a 10-copy discount package for retailers.

You can still contribute at the Smut Peddler project page. It’s $15 for a PDF copy of the book, or $30 for a paperback. Comics Alliance has interviewed driving force Spike Trotman about her goals for the project, and Spike has herself posted advice on using Kickstarter successfully.