If you’re only going to read one book about how to break into the comic industry, it should be one by Lurene Haines. They were written in the late 1990s, so the specifics about particular companies and publications are no longer valid, but the advice in general is still solid. These books aren’t about how to make comics — they’re about how to be a professional, how to have a career in comics. Business, not art. Hard work, not waiting […]

It’s long been a witticism that the only people left reading superhero comics are those who want to create them. To address this audience, DC Comics has published, in association with Watson-Guptill Publications, a series of guides to working on the various comic book crafts. They’re broken out in the traditional division of labor on the corporate assembly line — Writing, Pencilling, Inking, Coloring and Lettering — and the talent behind them are accomplished in their respective fields. The DC […]

The second volume of Tilting at Windmills collects more columns about selling comics in direct market specialty stores by outspoken San Francisco retailer Brian Hibbs. (I commented briefly on the first volume; sadly, it’s out of print, although still available used.) The columns collected here were originally published from late 2000 through March 2008. The first 17 finished up Hibbs’ run in Comics & Games Retailer, a professional limited-circulation magazine. The remaining 50 ran on Newsarama.com, where the audience included […]

Comics Now!, which launched early 2008, has been confirmed as ending (link no longer available). #3, the last issue, came out on September 10, 2008. Wizard’s Anime Insider is also reported to have been shut down. This year hasn’t been good for Wizard properties, since this news comes after word that their convention schedule was sliced in half, ending Wizard World Texas and “postponing” WW LA. These two publications join Comic Foundry (closed by choice after issue #5) and Write […]

I eagerly dove into the final issue of Comic Foundry. I’m hugely disappointed that, now that it’s clearly become the best magazine about comics out there, that it’s ending, but that’s no reason not to enjoy these last few bon-bons. The thing I liked most about Comic Foundry was that it covered things no one else was talking about. The books they profiled were both good-looking and, in many cases, new to me (which is rare). Their coverage made me […]

Review by KC Carlson Ever since I heard about the concept of Marvel Chronicle, I’ve been dying to see the book. I love books like this, packed with facts and trivia, and I think that every major comics company needs to have a publishing history/timeline like this. I’m not surprised Marvel got to it first. Obviously designed to be DK’s major comic-related book for the holiday season, Marvel Chronicle is a lavishly produced gift book, housed in its own illustrated […]

This week, TwoMorrows released their latest Modern Masters volume — the 19th in the series — covering Mike Ploog. Old friend Roger Ash wrote it, so I asked him a few questions about his work and the book. Please tell us a little about the book and your contributions. Well, like the other Modern Masters volumes, it features a career-spanning interview with a comic artist. In this case, it’s Mike Ploog. The book was edited and designed by the creator […]

I would think that a magazine aimed at aspiring comic writers would have a built-in market, but maybe it’s easier to fill pages with art samples than scripts. Write Now!, published by TwoMorrows, announced today that its final issue would be #20. Write Now!, the professional “how-to” magazine on writing for comics, animation, and sci-fi, concludes its six-year run with TwoMorrows Publishing this February. The final issue, #20, is solicited in the December issue of Diamond Comic Distributors’ Previews catalog, […]