The plan is to re-release these series, the first four issues from each:

• Tiny Titans
  • Enter: Nightwing! (originally #4 of the series)
  • Penguins in the Batcave! (#3)
  • Sidekick City Elementary (#1, cover shown here)
  • Tiny Titans vs. The Fearsome Five (#2)
• DC Super Friends (from 2008)
  • April Fools (#4)
  • Dinosaur Round-Up (#2)
  • Hungry for Power (#1)
  • Wanted: The Super Friends (#3)
• Batman: The Brave and the Bold (2009)
  • The Attack of the Virtual Villains (#2)
  • Menace of the Time Thief (#4)
  • The Panic of the Composite Creature (#1)
  • President Batman (#3)



• Superman Adventures (1996)
  • Be Careful What You Wish For… (#2)
  • Distant Thunder (#3)
  • Eye to Eye (#4)
  • Men of Steel (#1 — all but this one are written by Scott McCloud!)
• Batman Adventures (2003)
  • Free Man (#2)
  • My Boyfriend’s Back (#3)
  • Need to Know (#4)
  • No Asylum (#1)
• Young Justice (2011)
  • By Hook or by Web (#4)
  • Hack and You Shall Find (#3)
  • Haunted (#1)
  • Monkey Business (#2)

The hardcovers will include additional content, such as about the author, about the illustrator, and glossary pages, making them a little longer than the original comics. More titles will be included in future releases.

I’m thrilled to be part of the Love & Capes universe, since it’s one of my favorite comics going right now, never failing to make me smile. And since KC and I spent our tenth anniversary at the park that shall not be named, I couldn’t pass up a combination of both those fun things.

A new Love & Capes miniseries starts later this year, in case you wanted a jumping-on point. In the meantime, Thom will be appearing at MegaCon next weekend, where he will have copies of this print for sale as well as books and commission slots.

Following last year’s successful gathering in Chicago, the third international conference on Comics & Medicine will be held July 22-24, 2012, in Toronto, Canada. They’re looking for suggestions for papers, workshops, and panel discussions. Keynote presenters are Joyce Brabner (Our Cancer Year) and Joyce Farmer (Special Exits). Paul Gravett, noted comic scholar and author, will also host a talk. From the comic organizers:

The idea of “graphic medicine” is that cartooning and healthcare have some interesting intersections and overlap that can benefit both: patients, caregivers, and medical professionals telling their stories and using comics to communicate experiences and information in ways no other medium can.

Proposals in response to the 2012 Toronto Call for Papers are due February 28. Although this is an academic conference, drawing 80-100 people or so, comic creators and scholars are welcome to contribute.

Beginning in Fall 2012, they’re going to republish DC comics as “reinforced library hard covers and paper-over-board editions … The license includes worldwide English and select Spanish editions for limited markets.” 24 titles, not yet specified, will be included, although since the press release talks about how popular Batman and Superman are, I’m guessing they’ll be part of the list.

Standard comics, like many magazines, are too flimsy to stand up to frequent library use or multiple young readers, so hardcovers will be more durable. It’ll be interesting to see how much they charge and whether they’re going to stick to the 20-page-story length or bind up several chapters at once.

Marvel has announced that they will be launching “two all-new ongoing comic book titles for comic fans of all ages” in April. The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes Adventures will be written by Chris Yost and drawn by Adam Dekraker and contain two stories told “through the eyes of Agent Coulson.”

Ultimate Spider-Man Adventures will be written by Dan Slott & Ty Templeton and “Man of Action”, a group responsible for the popular Ben 10 cartoon. I’m assuming that so many credits means multiple stories there as well. Art will be by Nuno Plati.

Both books will be priced at $2.99 US. Both match the titles of the Marvel cartoons launching the “Marvel Universe” programming block on Disney XD on April 1. The Spider-Man cover even matches the TV promo art, complete with Photoshop-blurred feet.

This method, of releasing kids’ comics based on what has other-media support in cartoons, is the same strategy DC’s followed for years. It makes sense to attempt to build synergy and get free TV advertising.

We left Saturday morning and stopped off in Durham to go by Books Do Furnish a Room, a comic/used book/used CD store that I first visited 25 years ago. (The same guy is working the register, bless him.) No comics for me there, but I did get a couple of old cookbooks. I love trendy, now-outdated recipe guides as capsules of the culture of a particular time period, in terms of techniques used and ingredients available and eating trends.

Once in Charlotte, we met up with Tim O’Shea for dinner and lots of good conversation. Sunday morning it was off to the show. The Mini-Con was held at the Palmer Fire School building, which had this great, solid, mini-castle appearance. When we arrived right at opening, there was a short line to get in.

I was most excited to chat with these two guests, out of the several there:

Dustin Harbin	Cliff Chiang

Cliff was busy sketching from the moment he sat down, so I didn’t get much chance to talk with him, but I appreciated the time Dustin took to catch up with me. They were up on a stage area, so I turned around and took these pictures of the crowd.

As you can see, the rest of the room was mostly comic boxes on (and under) tables. KC and I did a little shopping, but it quickly became too crowded to easily look through the back issues available, so we left early. Not before we met up with Back Issue editor (and old friend) Michael Eury, though, who was accompanied by his cousin, dressed as an adorable Li’l Deadpool. I was also pleased to meet Rich Barrett, who does the impressive-looking webcomic (really an online graphic novel) Nathan Sorry. I’m going to be catching up on that in some reading.

We then headed out to the nearby store location of Heroes Aren’t Hard to Find, who put the show together, and did some more shopping there. The very helpful store clerk dove into a huge stack (seriously, they made a wall and required a wheeled ladder to access) of back issue boxes to find me a couple of indy comics I’d been hunting, the kind of title most dealers don’t bring to shows anyway. Then it was off for more used CD and DVD shopping at the immense Manifest Records, where I picked up 14 movies due to their “buy one, get second half-off” sale. I’m already a sucker for $5 DVDs, but if you offer two for under $8, I’m clearly lacking any self-control. If you’re in the area and looking for great media deals, check them out.

It was a great, relaxing weekend, aside from the five-hour drive coming back on Sunday night. I’m glad we made the trip.

Update: Tim has posted his pictures, including an adorable one of KC behind the door at the Heroes store.

First, there was the report done by a Washington, D.C. TV station. According to ICv2, the story was introduced “with the titillating lead-in ‘Graphic violence and sex: that’s what you’ll find in the pages of DC Comics today.’” While I’m against dragging out the old falsehood that all comics are for kids, like many other people, I was disturbed by the bottom-feeding adolescent approach of such titles as Catwoman and Red Hood and the Outlaws. I suspect some parents will want to know about this kind of material in books that they think are for kids, especially superhero comics with a tie-in to the best-known media version, Batman.

Does any disagree that those two books, in particular, are selling themselves based on sex and violence? Just check out this latest cover, with a barely-clad Starfire in a puddle of blood. The first issue of Catwoman was about the title character and Batman having sex — the news report is not misrepresenting the content. I’m against sensation-mongering (although you may see more of this in February, which is a ratings sweeps month), but I’m also against DC putting out this kind of material and pretending there’s nothing wrong with it.

I agree with the basic premise, that the levels of sex and violence in DC’s comics has increased over the past few years. I think that’s a communication problem, fundamentally — DC can’t expand the mass media presence of its superheroes with material aimed at all ages or kids particularly (as with its cartoons) at the same time that it’s aging up its comics content WITHOUT clearly stating that these books are not for kids. A tiny “T” doesn’t communicate that message effectively, in my opinion. (I also don’t think their ratings are fairly determined, in terms of actual content, but that’s a different debate.)

In response to the report, the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund released a retailer advisory on “how to manage a media attack”. There’s a lot of good advice, but nothing to address the publishers, who are the source of the problem attention in this case.

For a different example of the kind of attention the comic industry doesn’t need, there’s this co-op ad (using DC funds) placed by a comic shop in Orlando, Florida, that plays on racism and jingoism to draw attention. First, there’s the matter of calling Cyborg “Robama”, because of course all young black men can be mistaken for our President. (Tacky reminder that to some people, “they all look alike.”) More problematic is the offer to trade in a manga volume for any new DC 52 #1 issue. I guess the retailer wants more customers that are economically stupid, since manga retails from $9.99 to $16.99, while the new DCs were mostly $2.99 each. Then there’s the caveat, limiting the offer to one “per American citizen”. Does this charming shop check ID at the door?

I’ve seen this kind of “manga aren’t real comics, because they aren’t from here” attitude from retailers before, but never one who was so proud to advertise his dislike of the most successful new comic format of the past decade. Many manga readers aren’t that interested in American comics to begin with, but if you are serious about converting customers, maybe you shouldn’t insult what they already like? It runs the risk of driving them away. As marketing, it’s a failure, since it gives them no reason to sample the new product, besides the fact that you think they aren’t patriotic enough.

I have to wonder about DC’s standards for its co-op program, since I have a hard time believing they approved this use of their logo and characters.

Speaking of the logo, last week’s rumor is true: DC is changing their logo. Only it’s more complicated than thought: “The “C” can be customized to the colors and qualities of the property it’s promoting: silver and gray for the corporation, blue for DC Comics, or — as suggested by the graphic below — sparks for The Flash, green for Green Lantern, or a mist for Batman.”

So what’s the black Alien-looking version in the top middle, then? And what, no Superman version? I guess he just isn’t as important to the company these days. Unlike Watchmen, which gets its own version in the bottom left. More changes are yet to come, including a revamped website:

[Amit Desai, senior vice president of franchise management] is building a new website that will showcase all DC properties, not just publishing, as it does now, and take full advantage of the logo’s interactive capabilities. Throughout the year, it will begin appearing on consumer and home entertainment products, TV and film graphics, games, and packaging.

(And for the first delay. Flagship title Justice League will ship issue #5 a week late. Since it’s drawn by Jim Lee, who also has other responsibilities as a company official, this is not terribly surprising.)

The first hints came in a Newsarama interview with DC’s Executive Vice President of Sales, Marketing and Business Development John Rood and Senior Vice President of Sales Bob Wayne. Marvel had just reclaimed the top spot in sales to the direct market, a position DC had gained with and held since the reboot, so there was a certain amount of “we’re still nicer to retailers” message-spinning, including this quote:

We’re more about the profitability of these titles. We’re more about the media and merchandise opportunities of these titles. And we’re most interested that the retailers are continually excited about the stories and characters.

That’s a reminder that DC is now part of a much bigger company that may not be directly focused on the comics. News also came out that prices were rising on top titles Batman and Detective, accompanied by a page count increase. What many people were curious about, though, were the hints that cancellation notices would be coming.

Shortly thereafter came word that six titles would be cancelled after issue #8 (due in April) and be replaced by six other books. Gone are two war books — Blackhawks and Men of War — two books with black heroes — Mister Terrific and Static Shock — and two books with unusual creative choices — OMAC, written by company Co-Publisher Dan DiDio, and Hawk and Dove, written and drawn by Rob Liefeld. Editor-in-Chief Bob Harras did address the perceived lack of diversity with a statement that said “characters that are not going to be in their own titles will be appearing in other books” and a focus on building the universe.

The cancelled titles will be replaced by these six comics:

• Another war book, G.I. Combat, with a lead feature and rotating backups featuring famous names from DC war comic history
• The return of my favorite Batman book, Batman Incorporated, by Grant Morrison and Chris Burnham
• The Ravagers, by 90s comic name Howard Mackie and Ian Churchill, spinning off from Teen Titans and Superboy
• Dial H, written by fantasy novelist China Mieville (promising a new, darker take, which ruins the concept for me, but I’m very nostalgic about it)
• The return of alternate Earths and the Justice Society in Earth 2 by James Robinson and Nicola Scott
• Worlds’ Finest by Paul Levitz with rotating artists George Perez and Kevin Maguire, featuring Power Girl and The Huntress trying to get back to Earth 2

Don MacPherson has some good commentary on the coming lineup as well as pointing out that the cancelled books were the worst-selling of the line with one exception: Captain Atom, which was saved for some unknown reason. Another weird change that’s coming — Rob Liefeld will be working on THREE books: writing and drawing Deathstroke while plotting Grifter and The Savage Hawkman. I’m just glad I don’t care about any of those titles.

More changes seem to be in store, with the discovery of this redesigned logo, submitted to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. It’s unclear what it will be used for, with the idea of an app making the most sense to me.

The folks behind one of my (and KC’s) favorite DC comics, Tiny Titans, Art Baltazar and Franco, will have another monthly DC title beginning in May. DC has announced Superman Family Adventures.

The series will be starring (you guessed it!) the whole Superman gang – Superman, Supergirl, Superboy, Lois Lane, Jimmy Olsen, Lex Luthor, Bizarro, General Zod and … Fuzzy the Krypto Mouse!… Before SUPERMAN FAMILY ADVENTURES hits stores, you’ll be able to get a sneak peak at the series in the DC Nation 2012 Free Comic Book Day Super Sampler!

That free comic giveaway will also include stories based on animated series Green Lantern and Young Justice.

Update: Well, so much for adding titles. It appears that this book will be a sort of replacement for Tiny Titans, which is being reported to end with issue #50, due out in March.

Earlier today, I got one of those pleading letters that wanted me to mention their Kickstarter project. The email was pretty good, although it was obviously a form letter to a large group of websites. It opened by saying that the person didn’t want to beg, but he was hoping to get the word out and “get some feedback from a professional source”. It continued: “I’m definitely not looking for just a quick way to get some free advertising (ok, I am, but I’m not), so if you guys want to give this thing the old once-over, I would appreciate your time and thoughts”. Not surprisingly, this turned out to be completely untrue.

The project itself is a graphic novel pitched as being just like an 80s action movie. It was also (this has since been changed, based on my feedback) revealed as a screenplay that the author knew he couldn’t get produced, so he turned it into a comic.

I sent back a note saying that I wouldn’t be covering the effort because there was nothing that made this comic interesting. I thought he should make the comic sound more special, since “lots of action” described too many other books out there. Plus, talking about how it was originally a screenplay made it sound like settling for making a comic was a booby prize.

Even weirder, there are two versions of this work. The writer/editor couldn’t decide which of two artists to pick, so he had both draw the script, and he’s offering either or both in book form. I think if you can’t make tough decisions, like selecting just one artist, you should stay out of comics. Maybe then you can ask for a more reasonable amount of money. When I see a newbie asking for more than $10,000, and the book prizes start at $45, I’m turned off. $20-25 is a more reasonable price for pre-ordering a graphic novel, in my opinion.

Anyway, my blunt email said much of the above, although I did try to couch it in terms of tips he could take action on, as with the change he did make. Silly me for believing that the petitioner really meant it when he said, “I hope to hear from you.” It won’t surprise you to hear I got back insults and reasons he didn’t want to listen to me.

My criticism was “constructive (although completely unhelpful)”. He wasn’t mad, he told me, but he felt the need to assert I was turned off by his manly comic and I was criticizing him because he wasn’t a woman. He then told me I clearly wasn’t the target audience. (I know that. But if you think that, why promote it to me in the first place?) When I was a potential advertisement for his project, my site was fine; now that I’d rejected him, I had no idea what “original” looked like because I read manga and Archie and that was all the same. This did somewhat impress me, in a demented way, because most he-men “you women ruin comics” idiots don’t bother to check out the site to any depth.

Then the email got really weird. Let me quote: “You seem like one of those snobby know-it-alls who sips wine while snuggling up to “classics” like Essential Dykes and who would be more than happy to hear more about my book if I won the Prism Comics Queer Press Grant”. So he’s also marginally homophobic and biased against wine drinkers.

I know people like this who ask for feedback are lying (or misleading themselves). They don’t want honest reaction. They want to hear how great their work is and how eager you are to tell others that. Any other reaction hurts their widdle ego and drives them to find reasons to ignore you. It’s completely understandable, and it goes along with the job.

I shouldn’t even be wasting your time telling you about this — but this kind of behavior does give anyone using Kickstarter a black eye by association. Now, I’m even less likely to listen to anyone pitching a project using that method, because I don’t know when I’m going to scratch another ridiculous person lashing out.

Update: I’ve now received the following offer for a “compromise” from this guy. If I “call it even”, he’ll stop berating me (although he’ll keep calling my words “slander”), but in return, he wants me to either erase this post (and his many comments) or remove the information about his project being an 80s action movie comic, because he thinks that’s too specific an identifier. Sorry, dude, not going to happen. I think people should know who they’re trusting to send them Kickstarter rewards in return for their money.

They’re going to be giving away a 48-page hardcover. They’re calling it a graphic novel, but it’s an anthology of various stories, “all original … not reprints or excerpts from upcoming releases” from David Petersen’s Mouse Guard, Jeremy Bastian’s Cursed Pirate Girl, Jim Henson’s Labyrinth (story by Ted Naifeh and Cory Godbey), Dapper Men (by Jim McCann and Janet Lee), and others. These are some attractive properties with a lot of appeal to a wide range of readers.

Said Archaia President and CEO PJ Bickett, “We’ve offered single issues for past Free Comic Book Days, but Archaia’s specialty is producing beautiful, hardbound collections. Offering a hardcover book for Free Comic Book Day is our way of helping to drive more potential customers to comic book stores on what has historically been their busiest sales day of the year. But it’s also a way to educate readers on what Archaia is all about: high-quality graphic novel collections of stories they can’t get anywhere else.”

(Since retailers have to pay for the FCBD books they give away, I’m very curious to hear how much Archaia will be charging for this book. I hope it’s not the rarest FCBD installment for that reason.)

Free Comic Book Day will be held on May 12, 2012. This is only one of the ten Gold-level titles selected for the event. Archie is putting out a Mega Man #1 reprint, and Oni has a Yo Gabba Gabba comic. Bongo offers a Simpsons/SpongeBob SquarePants flipbook, while Boom! teams up Peanuts with Adventure Time in their double-sided comic. Dark Horse flips Star Wars and Serenity, for the sci-fi media fan, who might also enjoy IDW’s Transformers #80.5. Image Comics is celebrating 20 years with an anthology, with more information to come. For the most predictable selections, DC provides a 52 sampler, and Marvel reprints Avengers #12.1 (to go along with the coming movie).

As has been typical of the past few years, the offerings are mostly licensed works and books aimed at younger readers, because that’s what brings potential new customers in the door.

Bonfire wants to help brands reach fans in an authentic way, tapping into fan-to-fan communication and communities without talking down to them. Many companies have segmented marking budgets, with a portion targeted to reach a particular culture (such as Hispanic) or demographic (such as teens). By providing an avenue to reach fans as though it was another market segment, Bonfire hopes to make it easier for companies and brands to speak to fans with respect and avoid bad word of mouth. To that goal, they have three major efforts.

1) Comics United. This advertising network will make it easier for companies to reach dedicated fans by providing combined ad-page buying, putting one advertisement into publications from multiple publishers. Those on board so far are Dark Horse, IDW, Aspen, Boom! Studios, Dynamite, and Top Cow. By providing one contact point, it becomes easier for mass market clients (such as video game makers or soft drink companies) to make an ad buy that reaches the number of eyes they expect in combined circulation.

Plans for a second phase include selling ads not only in print but across the publishers’ websites. Bonfire was written up in Publishers Weekly in August for this effort, and that article has more details.

2) Store Corps. This outreach will connect various direct market stores to provide venues for sampling events or promotions connected to new movies or product launches. Bonfire aims to make it easy to reach passionate consumers in a credible way, in keeping with the comic shop environment and in ways that affect the retailer positively (without disrupting sales or taking too much effort). In order to get this going, they need most of the top 40 markets in the pipeline, so this effort is further out. It’ll start in 2012, ideally, depending on the right client.

3) Fan Pan. The goal here is to create a focus group/research panel that can be used for online testing of product announcements and the like, gathering reaction to new efforts. They’re planning to have about 350 people that can rotate in and out to give opinions in return for compensation or exclusive products. Recruitment for that is planned to start in January.

So far, the Bonfire Agency has also created a 16-page comic to promote and benefit Robin Hood, a New York City-based charity to fight poverty through food, housing, and job-training programs. They hired artists to provide pinups and background art for the book, which updated donors and other interested parties with organization statistics and mission statements.

Bonfire is also working with Ghost Light Films to promote A Never-Ending Battle, an upcoming PBS documentary that “will explore the American art form of the comic book superhero and its complex interrelation with American culture over the last 75 years [and] how the evolution of the costumed crusader reflects our social, political and cultural history.”

The two are pictured here in a photo by Gavin Bond from the magazine slideshow, which was “inspired by iconic portraits of the 20th century” — in their case, a classic Laurel and Hardy moment.

Charles "Zan" Christensen (left) and Mark Brill

From the publisher’s press release:

Christensen and Brill started work on The Power Within in October of last year for 24-Hour Comics Day, an event where artists and writers attempt to create a complete 24-page comic book in 24 hours. Their story focused on a boy named Shannon who deals with bullying at school by escaping into a super-powered alter-ego but ultimately has to find the strength to face the harassment in real life. The decision to do a comic that tackles antigay bullying was prompted by the previous month’s numerous reports of teen suicides linked to bullying and harassment.

…”We didn’t go into this project knowing where it would go,” said Christensen, who scripted the book and coordinated the project. “We just felt compelled to tell a story that confronted the epidemic we saw unfolding before us and offered some hope. We’re humbled to be recognized for our efforts, and hope that others will continue use their skills and their resources to change kids’ lives for the better.”

… “It’s been really amazing — this project seems like one of those things that was just meant to be,” said Brill. “I think Zan and I were both really inspired and motivated to do something positive with this story and people have really responded to it.” … To date, Northwest Press has distributed over 700 free copies of the book to over 50 Gay-Straight alliances, schools, churches, community centers, and other youth organizations across the United States and beyond. Northwest Press encourages organizations to request copies of the book to use as teaching and outreach tools. In addition to the main story and bonus pages, the book contains a page of discussion questions and resources for LGBT teens.

“Something will be found. Someone will come forward,” a tearful George said in Macomb County Circuit Court. “I have never harmed a woman in my life. Let’s not forget no one saw me there — no one.”

George’s attorney Carl Marlinga announced plans to file motions for acquittal and a new trial next week. He was quoted as saying, “This is the worst I’ve ever felt at any sentencing because of my subjective personal belief that my client is innocent.” George has also been ordered by the court to pay restitution to John Hancock Life Insurance Co. of $130,000.

So Marvel has no books with a solo female title character any more, and more to the point, the only things that seem to be surviving are the big movie franchises and already-known properties — your X-Men, your Avengers, your Spider-Man, the brands that have lots of toy and cartoon and tie-in potential. DC’s sudden and newfound sales dominance seems to have their traditional rival running scared. Or perhaps the idea that a rising tide lifts all boats, that the DC effort was bringing in new customers and not damaging sales of other company titles, may not be as widespread as hoped. Especially when it comes to the publisher whose products are most similar to theirs.

Graeme McMillan speculates that we’re going to see new Marvel titles introduced to replace those that they’ve cancelled. That’s an optimistic take, and if it happens, I’d be curious to see what those books might be. My jaded side thinks that it’s unlikely we’ll see many new launches, and the ones we see will be more of the same, not the slightly quirky, unusual books that attract readers like me.

Update: Kiel Phegley has a good analysis of what this might mean in the bigger picture for Marvel’s direction in publishing.

For the most part, titles that remain untouched are those built off of properties and franchises that have proven to have long runs in the market, be they spin-offs of popular titles or series that have lasted for hundreds of issues, even through market fluctuations and creative changes. Even the lowest selling comics that remain, such as X-Factor, have shown a level of sales consistency from month-to-month, pointing toward a dependable place in the market….

Marvel’s new strategy of shipping more than 12 issues a year for its top sellers has wide-ranging implications. This coming February, no less than 13 monthly comics are shipping two issues in the five-Wednesday month … a comparison between February 2011 and February 2012 shows that the types of comic series that fall outside the core “tied to the spine of the modern Marvel U” construction has been noticeably cut. The number of kid-centric offerings from the publisher have been halved in the past year from four titles to two. The mature readers MAX line will soon have only one book standing in the DeadpoolMAX limited series. And a previous string of non-continuity or stand-alone miniseries (some tied to the release of Marvel’s popular films, others strictly Direct Market fare) has dwindled in the face of twice as many Avengers ongoing issues, a resurgence of Spider-Man-related product, and the steady growth of the X-Men line to include nearly a dozen ongoing comics.

I just read a digital preview copy of Boom! Studios’ Decision 2012: Barack Obama comic (provided by the publisher), out today, and I noticed something odd.

On the credits page, there is no writer listed. Art is by Damian Couceiro, cover by Jeffrey Spokes, and there are items for colorist and letterer, but no writer. Their website lists only the artist.

The comic reads like an illustrated encyclopedia article, with captions pasted over images. Related facts are listed in a bulleted list at the bottom of each page. The text might have been rewritten from Wikipedia or other public sources, but I can’t find any exact matches online, so someone clearly edited and assembled the information. Why aren’t they credited? Even if it’s someone on Boom!’s staff, I would expect a name. Perhaps they just don’t want the fallout from working on a political book.

Update: Brigid Alverson got an answer from Boom!’s Marketing Coordinator that seems to support that guess. Emily McGuinness said the “young, incredibly talented writer” who wrote these comics “didn’t want to be associated as the ‘political comic book writer’ moving forward.” Personally, I would think a young writer just breaking in would want whatever published credits they could get, but then, I think a resume diverse in genres is a good thing.

Short version: Write a 300-word (or fewer) essay about why your comic retailer is the best, send it to IDW, and the winner AND their retailer will be drawn on a variant cover of the Star Trek comic. They’re calling it “Be a Redshirt”, since you’ll be drawn as willing to die to protect your comic source. (And apparently, based on the costuming, you’ll both need to be male.)

What if your comic retailer these days is Amazon or Comixology, though? Will they select your essay as a winner, and if they do, will they draw in CEO David Steinberger as the protected character? Given the use of the word “local” in the release, I’m betting those customers aren’t eligible. This contest assumes an old-fashioned type of retailer, with a single store owner whom you actually know. But those interested in this contest, with its limited alternate cover bait, probably do fall into that model.

The benefit to the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund comes from the limited nature of this cover. It will have a 300-copy print run, with 100 given to the retailer, 100 to the fan, and 100 to CBLDF (to sell, presumably, although I would imagine the retailer would do the same). The winning fan also gets the original art, created by the Sharp Brothers.

This issue, #5, starts a two-issue “re-imagining” of the classic story “Operation: Annihilate”, in which “Captain Kirk comes face to face with ghosts from his past when a rescue mission reunites him with the last person he expects to see.” It’s written by Mike Johnson with art by Stephen Molnar and Joe Corroney and due out in January. No word on when the contest deadline is.

As announced by Oni (with more preview pages at the link):

To celebrate the return of Antony Johnston’s WASTELAND, and to kick the series into high gear with a new monthly schedule, WASTELAND #33 will be $1. WASTELAND #33 marks a great jumping on point for new readers with a brand new arc and a brand new artist in Justin Greenwood. So the question becomes: Why the long hiatus?

Writer Antony Johnston sums it up pretty simply, “We screwed up. It all started around issue #25, which was double-length and full color, and exhausted Chris Mitten. We should have given him a break after that, but we didn’t, and suddenly he was struggling to hit deadlines. For Chris, that’s pretty much unheard of.” To finish out the arc, Antony and Oni Press sought out new talent to give Chris a breather. “Remington Veteto, who came on to finish out the current arc, is a great young artist but simply wasn’t ready to deal with the schedule that we had established. It was around this point we realized just how much of a machine Chris had been for us,” said Johnston.

“That’s when it became clear that we needed to take steps to get back on track,” said series editor and Oni Press EIC James Lucas Jones. “We found the perfect artist for the following arc in Justin Greenwood, best known for RESURRECTION, and he started plugging away. Justin has actually been working on WASTELAND for almost a year now, gearing up for the new schedule. We can’t wait to get the series back to the fans and to gain new fans with the $1 issue.”

Wasteland #33 page 15, art by Justin Greenwood, click to enlarge

Original series artist and co-creator Chris Mitten is also returning, to take over covers. “Justin brings a great new vibe to the series,” said Chris. “I’m really excited to see the fan reaction to Justin’s take on this world, and to be involved with WASTELAND myself in this new way.”

Jones continued, “The good news is that we’ve learned our lesson. From issue #33 onwards we’re adopting a new and better schedule. Fans of WASTELAND can look forward to the timeliness and regularity displayed by titles like THE SIXTH GUN and SPONTANEOUS, neither of which missed a ship date in 2011. Justin has already drawn up to #37 before we even solicit the arc, and Antony is scripting #41 right now. So we’re all working much, much further ahead than we ever have before on WASTELAND.”

Johnston has already planned out the rest of the series, right up to the final issue #60, saying “I’ve always known how WASTELAND would end, but how long it took — and the journey from here to there — was open. Now that we’re more than halfway through the series, I can see the landscape ahead more clearly, and every step along the way is accounted for.”

WASTELAND #33 hits store shelves on January 18th with a brand new arc, brand new artist and covers, and a special retail price of $1. Jump on now to the series that Warren Ellis calls “The best post-apocalyptic comic being published today”!

The stonecutter looks a bit familiar to fans of Mr. Sakai, and here, in the final page of the issue (which doesn’t spoil anything about the story), we get a wonderful message to readers and a lovely celebration of the accomplishment. I’m running it here with the publisher’s permission. I share Usagi’s good wishes for much more. Congratulations to Stan Sakai on reaching this milestone!

Lego Ninjago:
The Challenge of Samukai

This 64-page comic retails for $6.99 and will be available November 8. It’s written by Greg Farshtey, who, according to the press release “penned the hugely successful BIONICLE® graphic novels, also based on a LEGO property. To date, Papercutz has sold over 250,000 copies of its BIONICLE line.” Art is by Paulo Henrique, who previously worked on the Hardy Boys Papercutz books. In addition to successful comics, “the ninja-themed playsets have spawned a made-for-TV movie, an upcoming TV series, a video game for the Nintendo DS system, and an animated series … in the pipeline with Cartoon Network.”

I’m assuming that there are strong preorders that justify this high a print run; otherwise, it could be very risky for the company when returns come in from bookstore sources. Better to have the books out there to buy than to disappoint potential customers with sell-outs. There will be a second issue of Lego Ninjago, “Mask of the Sensei”, planned for February 2012.

This is quite a huge number for American comics, as I’ve said, where books can be considered great successes selling only half as much. However, to put it in perspective, compare the new Batman video game: Arkham City sold 4.6 million copies worldwide in its first week, or 24 times as much. It would be interesting to know how sales of the Lego Ninjago toys compare to the comics.