How nice for you. I don’t have an iPhone, so I don’t really care. I know lots of people do, though, and that’s why there are now something like 100,000 apps out there for that platform. If you couldn’t compete in the direct market, what makes you think you’re going to stand out in the larger field? Just for the novelty? Are you giving your comic away for free, then? If so, what’s your business model?

There is nothing wrong with a free taste. But you need to have something to convert those tasters to buying, and if you’ve only done the one “graphic novel” several years ago, what are you selling? Conversely, if you’re going to charge for your unknown comic, how are you getting the word out? Oh, through trying to get sites like mine to run your press release. Sorry. I know that it’s the hot new lifeboat everyone’s seizing on, but putting an illustrated work on the iPhone just doesn’t strike me as newsworthy. (Maybe if I had one I’d feel differently. My phone is Android, which has a comparative lack of comics available.)

This is the modern-day version of the press release that used to say “hey! I’m distributed by Diamond (just like thousands of other comics).” It’s a basic business decision, not news. As in so many other things, it only counts if you’re first, and you’ve already missed that window.

Got the above in an email from the WBShop (Warner Bros. online store), and I thought some of you might be interested. Sale ends November 12. Featured products include Watchmen DVDs (40% off, which makes them under $12), hats and belts, toys, kids’ costumes, and other DVDs. (I gain no benefit from any sales here, just in case anyone wondered.)

As reported by the Richmond Times-Dispatch, the library at Virginia Commonwealth University is marking the acquisition of its two millionth volume, which happens to be Amazing Spider-Man #583, the one that features President Barack Obama.

Marvel Comics’ Amazing Spider-Man #583, released in recognition of Obama’s inauguration, was added to VCU’s Comic Arts Collection, which includes more than 125,000 items.

(L to R) Tucker Stone, Bill Kartalopoulos, Sean T. Collins, Joe McCulloch, Chris Mautner, Douglas Wolk, Rob Clough, Gary Groth

The guests were

• Rob Clough
• Sean T. Collins
• Gary Groth (The Comics Journal)
• Chris Mautner
• Joe McCulloch (aka Jog)
• Tucker Stone
• Douglas Wolk

I thought that was a few too many people to allow everyone to participate equally. I would have liked to have heard more from Mautner, for example, but he didn’t get much chance to talk. Also, as you’ll notice from the picture above, we were joking about how similar the panelists were in resembling each other. I guess the youngish bespectacled white male represents many comic fans, though.

Along similar lines (wishing for a little more diversity), some of the most interesting comparisons came when Wolk (who works in print for well-known outlets) and those who mostly work online talked about how the experiences were the same or different. I would have appreciated more differentiation among the kind of work represented on the panel. (When they were introducing themselves, it came up that 4 of them write for the Savage Critics and 4 or 5 of them have written for The Comics Journal.) Maybe instead of so many bloggers, they could have included a podcaster?

But enough criticizing the critics. There were around 65-75 people in the audience, which surprised me at such a good turnout, and they seemed interested and engaged in the panel discussion. There was only time for a few questions at the end, and I had the impression that there could have been many more if another panel wasn’t starting.

Regarding these notes, I have done my best to capture statements and opinions accurately. Please don’t take anything (especially anything you object to) as a direct quote, but the concepts should be correct.

Criticism on the Internet

The first question posed to the panel was “how has the internet affected criticism?” McCulloch started by saying it allowed a quick response to whatever had been read and wide access (through search engines). You can also write however you want (in terms of style, length, etc.). Wolk added that it enabled conversation to take place quickly and broadly. (I appreciated this point, his emphasis of community.) Collins pointed out that you didn’t have an editor or gatekeeper, and Mautner liked the promotion opportunities, that you get the reward of readers’ attention, and that could lead to other things. Clough made a point about the problems of the internet, that it doesn’t always have long, thoughtful, critical pieces; instead, there was too much short snarky stuff.

The next question was to Groth, asking him why he didn’t have a blog. He referred to himself as “generationally challenged” and said that he spent several weeks honing a piece, so he wasn’t into the rhythm of posting every two days. He also thought that the potential conflict of interest put him in a difficult position. The Journal has shrunk as a proportion of Fantagraphics’ output now that they publish 60 graphic novels a year. Since the magazine is less prominent, I got the impression he felt the risk (of someone being annoyed by his opinion and taking it out on the company) wasn’t worth it.

I’m not sure what the next question was — my next note says that McCulloch pointed out that comic writing on the internet has grown a great deal in the five years he’s been doing this and that it’s easier for a new contributor to get lost. Wolk responded that if you don’t care about hit counts, timing doesn’t matter, so you can put out a piece when it’s ready and it’s there as long as the site is. I think this led into people talking about sequart.com having disappeared in some kind of database crash, and Clough saying that he no longer had copies of 200 columns he’d written for them. There was commiseration over this.

Stone (who talks like he writes, leading to the saltiest comments on the panel) said that self-imposed deadlines made him write. but he doesn’t know his hit counts. (Update: I got this wrong. Collins said he didn’t know his hit counts.Stone said that whatever his wife wrote was most popular.) Clough chimed in that he has a compulsion to write about what he’s read and that pushed him until he got it out there.

Print and Internet Differences

Groth then asked the others if they wrote differently for print and internet. Mautner said definitely! You have to consider your audience. In print, you have to explain a lot about comics; on the internet, you can assume that we’re speaking the same language. McCulloch pointed out that print has space limitations. Collins made the observation that when he’s writing for a general-interest publication, they mostly want reviews of good stuff, so he doesn’t publish bad reviews in print. Wolk backed him up by saying that the editors generally feel that if the review is negative, “why should our readers care?” Online, that’s opening a conversation; in print, you’re rendering judgment.

Then there was a discussion of whether Bottomless Belly Button got any in-depth criticism. Someone had read something that said that searching the internet just returned “it’s good, you should get it” reactions that were pretty shallow. At this point, Stone left for the men’s room. And I stopped trying to capture everything they were saying, so I didn’t get much of the BBB conversation.

The Critical Discourse

The next question was whether they felt that they needed to participate in critical discourse and weigh in on big tentpole books. Stone returned to say, “Critical discourse? What the f*ck is that?” He went on to point out that the wider internet has a low level of dialogue, illustrated through more profanity. Wolk felt that talking about what others were covering wasn’t an obligation but a pleasure. Clough feels obligated to cover review copies. He’s not interested in saying whether or not someone should buy it but just engages the work.

The panel began using Final Crisis as an example of something that was widely covered. Collins loved the book and the back and forth about it, but he would also love to see that volume of people writing about Acme Novelty Library #19, which he thought was the best book of the year. Wolk responded, “You might see more coverage if Acme was monthly,” which led to much laughter. McCulloch pointed out that there was so much conversation about FC because it affected so many other titles (supposedly). Clough thought it was easier to think about FC than Acme.

Then he asked whether the others approached reviewing art comics and superheroes differently. Collins said he was sure he did but he tries not to. Wolk thought it was hard to get away from the bigger continuity. Stone said he approached a minicomic from a 19-year-old shy kid different from an established older author, and he wouldn’t review the minicomic if all he wanted to say to the creator was “stop making comics”. (Only he said this in many more words and with more of a verbal picture of the poor kid.)

Collins pointed out that when reviewing for his own blog, he was self-selecting. He didn’t want to force himself through something that he expected to tear apart. Wolk finished by saying that his allegiance was to the reader, not to the person making art. There was no value in “scorched earth” unless it was useful or meaningful to the reader.

  Paul Sizer and Jane Irwin

A subtheme of the show was feeling old but not minding it so much. Some of these creators have only been making comics for a few years, while I’ve been reviewing them since 1992 (starting on CompuServe and Usenet). I decided to make a virtue out of longevity, proudly mentioning my track record to those who hadn’t heard of the site. The result was usually a stunned look, but in a good way.

Anyway, enough about me. Let’s talk about cool people who were there. Friends Jane Irwin (Vogelein) and Paul Sizer (BPM) were celebrating their fifth anniversary that day — aren’t they cute?

At their table, I bumped into Daniel Langsdale, who used to do a minicomic called Geeks in Disguise. He didn’t have any comics currently, but he did bring these delicious dessert bars made of chocolate, frosting, nuts, coconut, and all kinds of other yummy things. Incredibly rich, and a great pick-me-up for energy to keep walking around the show.

Blogger David Welsh temporarily watches the Fanfare/Ponent Mon table

First on my must-visit list was Fanfare/Ponent Mon, where I was able to pick up the second volume of A Distant Neighborhood, sent in specially to debut at the show. Jiro Taniguchi’s art always astounds me in its detail. Ed’s going to be writing a review of the series for the site in the future, but in the meantime, it gave me some things to think about in terms of acceptance and happiness and maturity. (And I was tickled to see my name on the back cover in a quote.) It’s unfortunate that their books don’t fit the typical perception of manga, so they have trouble in bookstores. They don’t really fit with Naruto, you know.

A Distant Neighborhood Book 2
Buy this book

Erika Moen had the much-anticipated (by me, anyway) news that she was hoping to put out a second DAR collection before the end of the year. I was surprised to see that the most popular area in the room, at least when I was on the floor, was the back right corner featuring webcomic creators, especially Kate Beaton. But then, the world is moving from minicomics to webcomics as a way for young artists to try new things and refine their craft. And with their outreach — large numbers of readers, who are often eager to buy prints or buttons or books of their favorite strips — I shouldn’t be surprised at the congestion.

Curt Franklin and Chris Haley of Let's Be Friends Again

Speaking of webcomic collections, I enjoyed talked with Curt Franklin and Chris Haley of Let’s Be Friends Again. Their parody strips have a distinctive sense of humor, and I couldn’t resist picking up their first book, Under Pressure, reprinting the comics they’ve done up until July. In color, too! And they all have annotations underneath, making for more funny. (And sometimes explaining just what they’re referring to.) The front page of the book has caricatures of the two authors with blank balloons, and they filled them in with a personalized sketch and dialogue, making my copy unique. Ha!

Masterpiece Comics
Buy this book

I also picked up R. Sikoryak’s Masterpiece Comics, but I missed getting it signed because I went to the critics panel instead. (More on that in a separate post.) However, I did get a free Drawn & Quarterly tote bag with it, which came in very handy by this point. (I’ll have another post on the minicomics I found interesting.) I loved reading these retellings of classic stories in perfectly chosen comic formats. Little Lulu in The Scarlet Letter is my favorite, although the new-to-me Dorian Grey as Little Nemo was also eye-opening. The oversized hardcover gives the whole thing the feel of a storybook, as well as allowing more room for the detailed art and text.

After a wonderful dinner with Xavier Xerexes, Jennifer and Caroline of Fantastic Fangirls, Jeff, and David Welsh, I had to drive home in pouring rain, the least fun part of the trip. But I got back safely and re-energized about the comic medium.

Warner Bros Pictures Group President Jeff Robinov is reportedly restructuring DC to report to him under the control of Diane Nelson, who had great success managing the Harry Potter franchise. She’s also President of the direct-to-DVD production arm Warner Premiere, which has been releasing a number of animated movies with DC characters. Existing production deals on DC character films are being “called back”, which appears to be movie-speak for “cancelled”, in order to give Warners more ownership and control.

This isn’t particularly surprising when you consider that the animated films have gotten praise, while the big live-action movies — Wonder Woman? JLA? Green Arrow in Supermax prison? — are known mostly for their missteps and blunders. Plus, there’s that whole “having to share Watchmen profits with Fox” lawsuit thing. It’s embarrassing, especially now that the world knows someone thinks competitor Marvel is worth $4 billion in large part because of their movie development success.

An announcement is rumored to come — we’ll all have to wait and see what happens. Rich Johnston is already speculating that Paul Levitz will step down rather than go forward in this new position.

From a fan point of view, because I hate the direction he’s set for the characters, I’d rather see Dan DiDio go. But from a corporate point of view, they need more people like him, who aren’t afraid to do new things. Paul Levitz grew up with DC, working their since before his college days — I think it’s been his only real world professional job. That makes for a certain kind of comfortable traditionalism that may not fit well in today’s faster-paced new media marketplace.

Update: That didn’t take long. DC Comics is now part of DC Entertainment with Diane Nelson as President. Paul Levitz will “return to his roots as a writer for DC and become a contributing editor and overall consultant … as expeditiously as possible.”

Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI) has created DC Entertainment Inc., a new company founded to fully realize the power and value of the DC Comics brand and characters across all media and platforms, to be run by Diane Nelson, it was announced today by Barry Meyer, Chairman & CEO, and Alan Horn, President & COO, Warner Bros. … Nelson will bring her expertise and more than 20 years’ experience in creative brand management, strategic marketing and content development and production to ensuring DC Entertainment’s dual mission of marshalling Warner Bros.’ resources to maximize the potential of the DC brand while remaining respectful of and collaborative with creators, talent, fans and source material.

Yep, got all the buzzwords — “across all media and platforms”. Watch for more licensing and expansion deals. The comics are not where it’s at. What matters is using the characters to create income in as many different ways as possible. Yet they don’t want to create a fan rebellion, so they get an acknowledgement.

I found this interesting… next year may be very very different from this one:

DC Comics will celebrate its 75th anniversary in 2010 (NEW FUN COMICS #1, the first DC comic, began publishing in 1935), at which time more explicit details regarding DC Entertainment’s corporate and management structure, film and content release slate, creative roster and business objectives will be unveiled at a multi-faceted anniversary celebration and press conference in the first quarter of the year.

Update 2: As fans hoped, Levitz’s first writing job has been announced: the Legion of Super-Heroes in Adventure Comics.

Just a short email to let you know that Solipsistic Pop — an anthology that features the very best in alternative UK comics — has launched its website with a manifesto that states the intentions of a new wave of comic artists taking over the UK alternative scene.

There was more about the anthology, due in November 2009, but I’m more interested here in looking at the impression the website gives, especially that first post.

A manifesto? Really? Acolytes of Warren Ellis, are we? That just screams “too young to be so bitter” to me. The 90s were about the manifesto and the tough political stance; now, that approach seems tired and naive to me. You want to convince me of something? Do the work and show me what you’re capable of. Anyone can spew declarations, but few can create art to live up to them.

When I read the manifesto, I was even more put off. It was full of negative statements. We don’t do this, we don’t do that, we reject this and that… I found it the wrong tone to take in starting a new effort. I want more energy put into what you are than in telling me what’s wrong with what other people are doing. Defining yourself in terms of absence — we aren’t this — is tricky and often unsatisfying.

Combine that with talk of building “a new paradigm… a new wave” and I’m going to write you off as immature and more interested in mimicking the successes of others who come before you than in showing me what makes *you* unique. I’ve seen all of this many times before, usually from groups who never end up putting out anything of substance before they tire themselves out and wander away. I’m wondering now if this is some kind of parody, a joke put out to see how many people will be taken in. I don’t think that’s the response you want to your new project launch.

  Join the Marvel Retailer Resource Center, and your website can look
  like this snippet too!

Last time I talked about the MRRC, I found out that it was a program that builds store websites for retailers. Now, this is following in long footsteps. Back in the day, Marvel actually had to set up a program to help retailers buy cash registers, because many of them were proverbially using cigar boxes to manage their money. So now that we’re in the 21st century, a website is required for any business, and Marvel wants to help. That’s great.

Unfortunately, the execution is a little different. The cash registers didn’t have big glowing Marvel logos all over them, and you didn’t have to jump through an extra hoop to ring up any non-Marvel comics you happened to sell. That’s not the case here. Check out either of these demo store websites Marvel mentioned in the PR they sent out. They scream “I only sell superhero comics! Don’t shop with me for anything else!”

Heck, the NewCastle site doesn’t even list any products that aren’t Marvel. Actually, they don’t list any Marvel products, either, since the “Marvel products” default page is noticeably badly designed and doesn’t show you anything unless you pick the right date … and it starts over a year ago, which is a dumb default. Meanwhile, the “Other products” page on the Samurai site is blank, reinforcing the “Marvel only” message.

Now, maybe that’s a message these retailers don’t mind sending. Maybe that’s their core customer base, and this is no different from putting a painted Spider-Man in your store window, as many used to do. But take a closer look — the title of these websites is “Marvel”. The URL is “marvelretailers.com”. That’s going to make it difficult to do effective search engine optimization based on their individual store brand.

At least the hours, location, and contact number are front and center of the home page. Overall, though, this is a lackluster, boring web presence that says “I couldn’t bother to put up my own web page.”

There’s still no word on how much this costs, although “Marvel incentivizes all retailers with enough product to make the MRRC virtually pay for itself!” “Incentivize” as a verb makes me itch. And “virtually” allows for a lot of wiggle room — your website should be considered a necessary marketing expense, not something to try and get for free or cheap. The program also offers some additional benefits, according to Marvel:

Get a first look at Marvel’s newest titles a week before they go on sale. Keep up to date on Marvel’s wide range of retailer incentives. Access the most up to date information on Marvel FOC and On Sale titles, simplifying your weekly ordering process.

I think some retailers may find it worth the money just to read Marvel comics early, since the print program was abolished. But should accurate ordering information be something retailers have to pay for? There’s a demo slideshow, narrated by Joe Quesada, at the Marvel site, but I couldn’t get it to load beyond the first two slides.

They sliced $1.5 billion off its market value Monday. That’s nearly twice the premium Disney agreed to pay Marvel’s shareholders.

Disney stock dropped due to the premium Marvel was getting: 40 times its earnings of $100 million. (Its own stock is at 15 times earnings.) And Marvel didn’t have a movie out this year, so it’s not making the kind of big money it did in 2008. But this is a deal planning for the long term, as Nikki Finke points out. She lists the expiration dates on various existing Marvel contracts — Their film distribution deal runs through 2013. The Universal theme park deal lasts for as long as they stay in agreement and maintain the attractions, so there goes my hope for Marvel Disney World rides anytime soon. (Unless, as speculation has it, there’s some kind of buy-out.) Activision has Spider-Man and X-Men games locked up through 2017. That’s also the expiration date of the Hasbro toy agreement.

Those are some looooooong contracts there. I know it’s less than ten years, but that seems excessive in a popular culture field.

The call was opened by Lowell Singer, Disney’s SVP of Investor Relations. Bob Iger, President and CEO of Disney, began with prepared remarks. Several times, Marvel’s portfolio of “over 5000 characters” was mentioned as having potential value for development. Terms like “value”, “leverage”, and “revenue synergies” were used frequently. Disney expects that “synergies over time will drive value creation”, that is, they’ll make money by being able to incorporate Marvel characters into their many distribution areas. Also said was “vertical integration removes friction” (which I read as meaning not needing to pay outside companies to do what they can do in-house in terms of movies, properties, licensing, etc.). Comparisons were made to the successful acquisition of Pixar three years ago.

The deal is expected to be complete by the end of the calendar year. I found it interested that, when talking about characters, Iron Man was listed first before Spider-Man and X-Men. Marvel was praised by Iger for showing strength in “increasing the appeal of characters not known outside fan community”. Iron Man was seen as a great example of that, making money from an unknown character who was turned into a huge property.

Iger also said something about how the popularity of Marvel characters and stories transcends gender and age, which I disagree with, but once Disney gets a hold of them, that will likely become more true. Discussion also covered the potential of international expansion to add more shareholder value.

Disney has a “proven ability to maximize value of properties across markets” which they’ll use on Marvel’s “treasure trove of content” across both “traditional and new media platforms”. They aim to “build a business stronger than the sum of the parts.

They then switched to Morton E. Handel, Chairman of Marvel’s Board of Directors, who mentioned in his prepared remarks how both companies have their roots in great storytelling and how Disney will be the perfect home for their great collection of characters and stories. They look to effectively expand their licensing businesses across many media platforms.

Thomas O. Staggs, Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Disney, gave some followup on strategic value. The “fit is clear” and they find it “financially compelling” as well. They think Marvel will be more valuable as part of Disney than on a stand-alone basis because of the “many areas of synergy”.

Regarding existing agreements (such as Marvel movies), Disney felt Marvel had “attractive licensing and distribution agreements with third parties”. Disney will assume those agreements as part of this transaction. As licensing agreements conclude over time, Disney will either bring them in-house or pursue third-party agreements depending on what they feel will most create value. I think that this would also cover things like theme park agreements, deals to show the Marvel movies on TV, etc.

There was concern about Disney share dilution, so Staggs stated that Disney intends to repurchase as least as many shares as they issue in this transaction within the next year. Then came Q&A, where I lost track of who was answering which questions. Here’s just some key points I found interesting.

John Lassiter met with key Marvel executives recently to talk about the potential of combining Marvel with Pixar. Everyone was very enthusiastic. “Exciting product may come from that; sparks will fly,” said an executive.

Someone asked how this would impact the film rights of characters at other studios. Disney said they thought Marvel did a good job putting attractive deals in place, and those deals would stay in place under the terms Marvel entered into.

Several time it was reiterated that Disney trusted Marvel as a “good group of people”. They said they were not only buying properties but “buying people who know the brands, stories, characters very well, and they will be relied on in this process. No one knows their characters and stories better than the folks at Marvel.” Disney said they were impressed by both what they’ve done and what they’re doing in approach from both a creative and business perspective. They feel Marvel has managed both smartly and diligently.

Someone asked about other bidders. Disney stumbled a bit on getting started on this. They said they reached out a few months ago to get to know them better, and then, as talks continued, both sides felt this was a unique combination. They also haven’t made any real estate decisions (I think this related to Marvel Studios in Manhattan Beach).

Are there benefits towards Disney in the comic book business? “We have a robust children’s publishing business.” They look to broaden both companies’ publishing and think there are opportunities there. I was disappointed not to hear more on this; it seemed a non-specific answer to me.

“The goal is not to rebrand Marvel as Disney but to shine a spotlight on the Marvel brand.” They aim to create value over and above the purchase price by bringing Marvel into Disney. In summation, they think Marvel has great creative people and great intellectual property and Disney can enhance their value by reaching more people globally.

Note that the NY Times article on the deal (which basically rewrites the press release) does add this context:

The acquisition comes as Disney, with its vast theme park operations and television advertising business, has been struggling because of soft advertising sales at ABC and ESPN and drooping consumer spending at theme parks. Disney’s profit in the third quarter, which ended June 27, dropped 26 percent.

So maybe Disney’s looking for a jolt in the arm of new properties to jazz things up? Or maybe that’s much too superficial an analysis, and I should let the financial pros figure all this out?

When I saw this headline this morning, I had to double-check the calendar to confirm that it wasn’t April. But this press release is posted to the official Disney site: (At the time of this writing, nothing is available at the Marvel news site. And here’s Marvel’s post.)

DISNEY TO ACQUIRE MARVEL ENTERTAINMENT

Building on its strategy of delivering quality branded content to people around the world, The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) has agreed to acquire Marvel Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE:MVL) in a stock and cash transaction, the companies announced today.

Under the terms of the agreement and based on the closing price of Disney on August 28, 2009, Marvel shareholders would receive a total of $30 per share in cash plus approximately 0.745 Disney shares for each Marvel share they own. At closing, the amount of cash and stock will be adjusted if necessary so that the total value of the Disney stock issued as merger consideration based on its trading value at that time is not less than 40% of the total merger consideration.

Based on the closing price of Disney stock on Friday, August 28, the transaction value is $50 per Marvel share or approximately $4 billion.

“This transaction combines Marvel’s strong global brand and world-renowned library of characters including Iron Man, Spider-Man, X-Men, Captain America, Fantastic Four, and Thor with Disney’s creative skills, unparalleled global portfolio of entertainment properties, and a business structure that maximizes the value of creative properties across multiple platforms and territories,” said Robert A. Iger, President and Chief Executive Officer of The Walt Disney Company. “Ike Perlmutter and his team have done an impressive job of nurturing these properties and have created significant value. We are pleased to bring this talent and these great assets to Disney. We believe that adding Marvel to Disney’s unique portfolio of brands provides significant opportunities for long-term growth and value creation.”

“Disney is the perfect home for Marvel’s fantastic library of characters given its proven ability to expand content creation and licensing businesses,” said Ike Perlmutter, Marvel’s Chief Executive Officer. “This is an unparalleled opportunity for Marvel to build upon its vibrant brand and character properties by accessing Disney’s tremendous global organization and infrastructure around the world.”

Under the deal, Disney will acquire ownership of Marvel including its more than 5,000 Marvel characters. Mr. Perlmutter will oversee the Marvel properties, and will work directly with Disney’s global lines of business to build and further integrate Marvel’s properties.

It goes on to say that each company’s Boards of Directors have approved the acquisition, while Marvel shareholders still have to approve the deal. Investors can hear more today at approximately 10:15 AM during a webcast.

This is quite a change for Marvel, although in terms of corporate synergy, it makes sense, and it brings them to a more similar place to that of their major competitor, since DC Comics is owned by global entertainment company Time Warner.

$4 billion dollars for a comic company! Who knew? I’m surprised that this seemed completely unexpected, with no rumors or concerns about Marvel being for sale.

Wow! It just occurred to me — this could mean a big deal for Universal Studios’ theme park, which has rides based on the Marvel characters. Won’t Disney want those properties for their own parks? I suspect many many ramifications like this are going to work themselves out over the next few months, past whenever the deal closes. Another question: Disney comics are put out by Boom! Studios — will that change?

To put this in perspective, DC is only publishing 23 new comics this week (including Vertigo, Wildstorm, and Jonny DC, but not counting book-format comics). Three of those are variant covers (one of those variants is for a second print). So Marvel almost published more variant covers than their competitor did actual comics this week!

“The place has always fascinated me,” said Winchester writer and San Jose native Dan Vado. “I’ve lived around the corner from this place my entire life and it’s like the house has been begging me to write about it. It would be easy to write Mrs. Winchester off as crazy, and to be honest, that’s the direction we were taking with the comic series,” added Vado, “but then I thought about the tragedies in her life and the toll they must have taken on her, so I decided to make the Sarah Winchester in our series a more sympathetic figure.” Vado pointed to the number of patents Sarah Winchester held and the almost futuristic labor-saving elements in the house as proof that, while odd, Sarah Winchester was not crazy or stupid.

Winchester #1 is due out in October. It’s billed as “part historical fiction, part ghost story” and features the ghost of Harry Houdini as the bad guy. Art is by Drew Rausch (Sullengrey and SLG’s Haunted Mansion — how appropriate!). Art samples can be seen at the publisher’s website.

After some controversy last year, the awards made some changes this year. I applaud their willingness to adjust their process in response to feedback. Here is their description of the current awards:

After the 2008 Awards it was decided, by committee, that the Awards would be streamlined and no longer career retrospective in theme (except for the Hall of Fame). As such there are new categories for 2009 and they are as follows:

Favorite Inker: favorite inker over another’s pencil art from ‘08 material — winner: Wade Von Grawbadger
Most Adaptable: showing exceptional ink style versatility over other pencil artists in ‘08 — winner: Tim Townsend
Props Award: inker over others’ pencil art deserving of more attention from ‘08 — winner: Matt Ryan
The SPAMI: favourite Small Press And Mainstream-Independent: ‘08 cover-dated ink work over another pencil artist (Non-Marvel or DC work) — winner: Tim Townsend
All In One Award: Favourite artist known for almost-exclusively inking his/her own pencil work and rarely the work of others in ‘08 — winner: Mike Mignola
The Joe Sinnott Award: Hall Of Fame designation for an inking career of outstanding accomplishment. Lifetime achievement (minimum 15 years) not limited to ‘08 material. Winner: Terry Austin and Dick Giordano

Tim Townsend won the Small Press Award for inking Witchblade, which I guess falls under “Mainstream-Independent”, whatever that means.

That slate is a decrease from last year’s 10 awards, many of which relied on distinctions that may not have been clear to the general public. This year they also had a group of nominators select choices, which were then “validated” by the award organizing committee. The general public voted on the resulting slate during the month of June. Strangely, most of the nominators were not artists, but writers and critics. I know you don’t want them to be inkers, given the potential for conflict of interest, but I would think including a few more artists would be beneficial.

Nobody was required to submit the ballots (I didn’t either year; mostly because I was disgusted by the scheme), but I’m sure we still had two- or three-dozen nearly identical ballots sent for both of those years. The worst part is that they were so pathetically obvious about it. In 2007, completely blank ballots were e-mailed to Gemstone employees… and then we were told to not touch those, but to instead wait for the “J.C. Vaughn-approved” (pre-filled) versions to be passed around.

That gives some idea of how few nominations it may take to get on the ballot.

The 2009 Harvey Awards Nominees have been announced with the release of the final ballot, presented by the Executive Committees of the Harvey Awards and the Baltimore Comic-Con. Named in honor of the late Harvey Kurtzman, one of the industry’s most innovative talents, the Harvey Awards recognize outstanding work in comics and sequential art. They will be presented October 10, 2009 in Baltimore, MD, in conjunction with the Baltimore Comic-Con.

Nominations for the Harvey Awards are selected exclusively by creators – those who write, draw, ink, letter, color, design, edit or are otherwise involved in a creative capacity in the comics field. They are the only industry awards both nominated and selected by the full body of comic book professionals. Professionals who participate will be joining nearly 2,000 other comics professionals in honoring the outstanding comics achievements of 2008. Thank you to all that have already participated by submitting a nomination ballot.

Final ballots are due to the Harvey Awards by Friday, August 28, 2009. Full details for submission of completed ballots can be found on the final ballot. Voting is open to anyone professionally involved in a creative capacity within the comics field. Final ballots are available for download at www.harveyawards.org.

This will be the fourth year for the Harvey Awards in Baltimore, MD. Our Master of Ceremonies this year will be Scott Kurtz.

Johanna comments: Full list after the break. And congratulations to John Gallagher and Sky Dog Comics, who placed in most categories despite not releasing an issue of Buzzboy in 2008 that I could find. Buzzboy: Sidekicks Rule #2 came out in February 2007; #3 came out last month.

Kind of cool to see so many webcomics under Best New Series.

Oh, I forgot to say: If it were up to me, I wouldn’t consider Diary of a Wimpy Kid eligible, because it’s not a comic. It’s illustrated text.

BEST WRITER

Kyle Baker, NAT TURNER, Abrams Books
Ed Brubaker, CAPTAIN AMERICA, Marvel Comics
John Gallagher, BUZZBOY, Sky Dog Comics
Jeff Kinney, DIARY OF A WIMPY KID, Amulet Books
Grant Morrison, ALL-STAR SUPERMAN, DC Comics

BEST ARTIST

Gabriel Ba, UMBRELLA ACADEMY, Dark Horse Comics
Kyle Baker, NAT TURNER, Abrams Books
Jimmy Gownley, AMELIA RULES, Renaissance Press
Jason Kruse, WORLD OF QUEST, Yen Press
Frank Quitely, ALL-STAR SUPERMAN, DC Comics

BEST CARTOONIST

Lar deSouza, LEAST I COULD DO, www.leasticoulddo.com
John Gallagher, BUZZBOY, Sky Dog Comics
Al Jaffee, TALL TALES, Abrams Books
Jeff Kinney, DIARY OF A WIMPY KID, Amulet Books
Thom Zahler, LOVE & CAPES, Maerkle Press

BEST LETTERER

Jimmy Gownley, AMELIA RULES, Renaissance Press
Rob Leigh, THE SPIRIT, DC Comics
Doug Sherwood, LOCAL, Oni Press
John Workman, MARVEL 1985, Marvel Comics
Thom Zahler, BUZZBOY, Sky Dog Comics

BEST INKER

Rich Faber, BUZZBOY, Sky Dog Comics
Jamie Grant, ALL-STAR SUPERMAN, DC Comics
Jeff Kinney, DIARY OF A WIMPY KID, Amulet Books
Mark Morales, THOR, Marvel Comics
Ryan Winn, THE DARKNESS, Image Comics

BEST COLORIST

Frank Cammuso, OTTO’S ORANGE DAY, Raw Junior, LLC
Jamie Grant, ALL-STAR SUPERMAN, DC Comics
Laura Martin, THOR, Marvel Comics
Wil Quintana, THE MICE TEMPLAR, Image Comics
Dave Stewart, UMBRELLA ACADEMY, Dark Horse Comics

BEST COVER ARTIST

Frank Cho, BUZZBOY: SIDEKICKS RULE!#3, Sky Dog Press
James Jean, FABLES, Vertigo Comics
Jay Lynch, MINDSHAFT #23, Mindshaft Publishing
Ken Rocafort, PILOT SEASON: CORE #1, Top Cow
Alex Ross, JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA, DC Comics

BEST NEW SERIES

THE DREAMER, IDW
ECHO, Abstract Studios
HIGH MOON, www.zudacomics.com
NIGHT OWLS, www.zudacomics.com
SUPERTRON, www.zudacomics.com

BEST CONTINUING OR LIMITED SERIES

ALL-STAR SUPERMAN, DC Comics
CAPTAIN AMERICA, Marvel Comics
DIARY OF A WIMPY KID, Amulet Books
MICE TEMPLAR, Image Comics
UMBRELLA ACADEMY, Dark Horse Comics

BEST BIOGRAPHICAL, HISTORICAL OR JOURNALISTIC PRESENTATION

DRAW!, edited by Mike Manley, Twomorrows Publishing
HOW TO MAKE WEBCOMICS, Brad Guigar, Dave Kellett,
Scott Kurtz, and Kris Straub, Image Comics
KIRBY: KING OF COMICS, Mark Evanier, Abrams Books
SCORCHY SMITH AND THE ART OF NOEL SICKLES,
edited by Dean Mullaney, IDW
WORDLESS BOOKS: THE ORIGINAL GRAPHIC NOVELS,
edited by David A. Berona, Abrams Books

BEST SYNDICATED STRIP OR PANEL

BREWSTER ROCKIT: SPACE GUY!, Tim Rickard, Tribune Media Services
GET FUZZY, Darby Conley, United Features Syndicate
MUTTS, Patrick McDonnell, King Features Syndicate
THE NORM, Michael Jantze, Uclick Gocomics
PEARLS BEFORE SWINE, Stephan Pastis, United Features Syndicate

BEST ANTHOLOGY

COMIC BOOK TATTOO, edited by Rantz Hoseley, Image Comics
FLIGHT VOLUME 5, edited by Kazu Kibuishi, Villard
MOME VOLUME 10, edited by Eric Reynolds, Fantagraphics Books
PIXU #1, edited by Gabriel Ba and Fabio Moon, Self-Published
POPGUN VOLUME 2, edited by Joe Keatinge and Mark Andrew Smith, Image Comics

BEST GRAPHIC ALBUM – ORIGINAL

BOTTOMLESS BELLY BUTTON, Fantagraphics Books
DIARY OF A WIMPY KID: RODRICK RULES, Amulet Books
ESSEX COUNTY: THE COUNTRY NURSE, Top Shelf
SKIM, Groundwood Books
TOO COOL TO BE FORGOTTEN, Top Shelf
WORLD OF QUEST: VOL. 2, Yen Press

BEST GRAPHIC ALBUM – PREVIOUSLY PUBLISHED

AMELIA RULES!: FUNNY STORIES, Renaissance Press
M, Abrams Books
NAT TURNER, Abrams Books
THE MICE TEMPLAR: VOL. 1, Image Comics
QUEEN AND COUNTRY: VOLUME 3, Oni Press
SKYSCRAPERS OF THE MIDWEST (HARDCOVER), Adhouse Books

BEST SINGLE ISSUE OR STORY

ACME NOVELTY LIBRARY #19, Self-Published
FIRST BORN: AFTERMATH #1, Top Cow
LOVE AND ROCKETS, VOL. 3 #1, Fantagraphics Books
M, Abrams Books
NASCAR HEROES #5, NASCAR Comics
NAT TURNER, Abrams Books
THE AMAZING REMARKABLE MONSIEUR LEOTARD, First Second
Y: THE LAST MAN #60, Vertigo Comics

BEST DOMESTIC REPRINT PROJECT

ASTOUNDING SPACE THRILLS, IDW
COMPLETE PEANUTS, Fantagraphics Books
COMPLETE TERRY AND THE PIRATES, IDW
SCORCHY SMITH AND THE ART OF NOEL SICKLES, IDW
WACKY PACKAGES, Abrams Books

BEST AMERICAN EDITION OF FOREIGN MATERIAL

GUS AND HIS GANG, First Second
POCKET FULL OF RAIN, Fantagraphics Books
RED COLORED ELEGY, Drawn and Quarterly
SOLANIN, Viz
WITCHBLADE TAKERU MANGA #’s 11 & 12, Top Cow

BEST ONLINE COMICS WORK

BLACK CHERRY BOMBSHELLS, Tony Trovarello and
John Zito, www.zudacomics.com
HIGH MOON, Scott O. Brown, www.zudacomics.com
LEAST I COULD DO, Lar deSouza and Ryan Sohmer, www.leasticoulddo.com
NIGHT OWLS, Bobby & Peter Timony, www.zudacomics.com
PVP, Scott Kurtz, www.pvponline.com

SPECIAL AWARD FOR HUMOR IN COMICS

Lar deSouza, LEAST I COULD DO, www.leasticoulddo.com
John Gallagher, BUZZBOY, Sky Dog Comics
Al Jaffee, TALL TALES, Abrams Books
Jeff Kinney, DIARY OF A WIMPY KID, Amulet Books
David Malki, WONDERMARK, www.wondermark.com

SPECIAL AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN PRESENTATION

COMPLETE LOCAL: HARDCOVER EDITION, Ryan Kelly and
Brian Wood, Oni Press
KIRBY: KING OF COMICS, Mark Evanier, Abrams Books
QUEEN AND COUNTRY: VOLUME 3, Greg Rucka, Mike Norton,
Steve Rolston, and Chris Samnee, Oni Press
TALL TALES, Al Jaffee, Abrams Books
WONDERMARK, VOL. 1: BEARDS OF OUR FOREFATHERS,
David Malki, Dark Horse Comics

BEST NEW TALENT

Matt Cassan, NASCAR: HEROES, Nascar Comics
Bryan J.L. Glass, THE MICE TEMPLAR, Image Books
Laura Innes, THE DREAMER, IDW
Tim Sievert, THAT SALTY AIR, Top Shelf
Bobby Timony, NIGHT OWLS, www.zudacomics.com

Congratulations to all the nominees! If you know a nominee, please pass on the good news!

The Harvey committee and the Baltimore Comic-Con will make every effort to contact all nominees. If you are a nominee and do not hear from us by the end of June, please contact us at baltimorecomiccon@yahoo.com. We would love to discuss your involvement in the ceremony and the Baltimore Comic-Con.

Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck stories should make great companions for the existing Pixar and Muppet Disney licenses, already published to great success by Boom! The stories this time around are more in keeping with the Muppet Robin Hood miniseries — Disney characters in other genres. The first two titles will feature the characters as superheroes, in a long story called Ultraheroes, and in a fantasy series, Wizards of Mickey.

Meanwhile, although Boom! is publishing Muppet comics, Archaia has announced that they are teaming with The Jim Henson Company to “publish comic books and graphic novels based on popular Henson titles as well as new co-branded original properties.” While specifics will be announced at the San Diego Comic-Con, Henson properties mentioned include Fraggle Rock, The Dark Crystal, Labyrinth, Mirrormask, and The Storyteller. I wonder if this means Tokyopop has given up on their Return to Labyrinth manga series?

Later he Twittered that he was told that it was because of his association with Long Beach Comic Con, a competing show to Wizard’s delayed-and-not-yet-rescheduled Wizard World LA con. LBCC is run by other former Wizard employees. No word on whether Wizard is reimbursing him for expenses, like table fees, after banning him.

There’s another interesting mention in Hoveke’s blog post, about how Wizard tries to have everything their way, screwing up his plans:

Howard Chaykin, after having been tricked by Wizard, had to sign all day at the Dynamite Entertainment booth, apparently as some sort of deal setup to lure Dynamite to the show, as they were not going to setup there, or at least not as big a setup as they had this weekend. He had fixed the gitch tho, and was all set to sign in AA the rest of the show with Walter Simonson, our other attending artist.

What right does Wizard have to promise artist’s time to other publishers in order to secure their attendance? I can understand having certain obligations, if Wizard paid for Chaykin to attend, but an all-day signing? That’s excessive.

The first 75 women who visit his table, booth SP-638, at Heroes Con this upcoming weekend get a free copy of the comic. Visit loveandcapes.com to see what the strip is about.

I’m sad I won’t be at Heroes to say hi and “neat idea”. It’s a great way to call attention to the issue of leaving out one gender.