Why May, traditionally for springtime, bunnies, and flowers? Because the publisher has two graphic novels featuring the creatures coming out this month: Joann Sfar’s Little Vampire and Life Sucks by Jessica Abel, Gabe Soria, and Warren Pleece. They’re very different in mood, style, and audience, though. Little Vampire contains three whimsical-with-edge stories for all ages, while Life Sucks is aimed more at the post-college, “what am I doing with my life?” crowd.

Life Sucks
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The high concept of Life Sucks is Clerks with vampires. Dave’s a member of the undead whose life has changed not a bit. He’s working at a convenience store for the vampire who turned him because his master needed a night manager. He’s got a crush on goth girl Rosa, but another vampire’s in his way.

It’s a well-observed, sometimes wryly funny coming-of-age story with an abrupt conclusion that doesn’t fully explore the big plot events that happen shortly before the end. (Maybe they’re planning a sequel?) It’s still worth reading, though, for the sharp character sketches during the dialogue-driven scenes, and the concepts, rethinking the traditional seductive creature of the night, are amusing.

So, let’s talk vampires!

My favorite vampire comic is Spike: Shadow Puppets. It’s completely an in-joke for fans of the Buffyverse, but it gave me such pleasure to read. Runner-up: First Second’s Vampire Loves, because disaffected young adults redone as mythical creatures who still have the same problems of finding love and purpose is genius.

My favorite vampire film is The Lost Boys, because it’s not about the gore, it’s about the mystique and the appeal of being different and distant and powerful.

My favorite vampire show is Angel, due to the amazing character transformation Wesley goes through over the course of the series. Upon rewatching recently, it held up much better than Buffy for me. And it made me cry.

What are yours?

I don’t read Loveless for several reasons: it’s a Western; it’s written by Brian Azzarello; it’s a Vertigo title (and the only things I’ve enjoyed from them lately are their original graphic novels, some of which are quite good); and it sounds violent (promo copy referenced “the bloody action and atmosphere of a Sergio Leone film”).

So I don’t care that issue #24, due in May, will be its last. But I was impressed that DC made this announcement:

Please note that all orders for the LOVELESS VOL. 3: BLACKWATER FALLS TP (FEB080302) have been cancelled. This title will be resolicited in the June Previews, and will be expanded to include issues #22-24, which will be the final issues of the series.

It’s a good thing for fans of the series to have all of the story available in collections.

Chris Ryall has announced that IDW Publishing will be releasing a collection of the first six issues of Love and Capes in November. I love this superhero romantic comedy.

TwoMorrows has posted an update on the status of their Batcave Companion book.

It was originally planned for release July 2007, but the publisher decided to push it back to April of this year. At which point, DC came along and said, “no, no, WE’RE the only one putting out Batman books this year”, what with the movie and all. So TwoMorrows has had to reschedule for April 2009.

The lesson here? Take windows when you have them, because agreements can always change. If the book wasn’t ready, it wasn’t ready. But a smaller delay (perhaps to year-end 2007), while not allowing it to be new for the convention season, may have allowed it to be sellable this year. (Of course, hindsight and kibitzing are both 20-20.) According to Amazon, it was due out tomorrow, so this is something of a last-minute announcement, too. Perhaps the compromise took a while to hammer out.

Halo and Sprocket is one of my very favorite comic series.

Volume two, Natural Creatures, consisting of original material, is due out July 25 for $8.95 according to Amazon, and you can begin ordering it now.

And you should.

Continuing with their “nothing wrong with free tastes” approach, Boom! Studios has announced that the entire Giant Monster graphic novel is available to read online (but only until May 9).

The book shipped to the direct market at the end of 2007 and through Amazon last month, so retailers have had some selling time. Hopefully that will reduce the complaints related to this promotion this go-round. Since it’s the story of a giant monster vs. huge robot, it sounds like the kind of thing that needs to be seen to be appreciated.

DC Comics has announced that Showcase Presents: Superman Family Volume 2 was misprinted; “several pages from SUPERMAN’S GIRL FRIEND LOIS LANE #2 were accidentally swapped.” They will ship replacements:

DC Comics will provide retailers with new, corrected copies of this title in quantities equal to their orders to date on the current printing. Retailers will not be billed for these new copies. DC asks retailers to please dispose of any copies of Showcase Presents: Superman Family Volume 2 they currently have on their shelves, and to accept returned copies from their customers in exchange for corrected copies.

The Showcase Presents: Superman Family Volume 2 new printing is scheduled to arrive in stores on April 2. To differentiate it from the original printing, the logo on this cover will be red and white instead of red and yellow, and will arrive in stores under the item code JAN088359.

This is the kind of book I love to get online at a discount, but this is a case where buying online complicates the situation. A local retailer makes for an easy exchange (assuming they are aware of the problem). A big online company — who pays for postage to send it back? How do you know they won’t ship you another error copy? Who’s going to make sure that the existing error copies get pulled out of shipping warehouses?

I greatly enjoy Keith Knight’s Harvey- and Glyph-winning strip The K Chronicles, but most of the collected volumes are now out of print. Which means it’s time for an omnibus!

Dark Horse is releasing The Complete K Chronicles in July. It’s 500 pages for $24.95, available now for preorder (Diamond code MAR08 0037). It collects the first four books with annotations on the comics, plus sketches and a foreword by Kyle Baker.

But wait! It’s not actually complete. There is a new fifth book available only from the author. I Left My Arse in San Francisco can be ordered at the website or bought from Knight at convention appearances. Since I’m on the opposite coast, I mail-ordered, because I’m not sure when he’ll be out this way. This is the beginning of the eventual Completer K Chronicles!

Not one of the Minx titles makes the Top 750, nor does any CMX title except for Megatokyo, which is OEL. Looking deep into the Long Tail, Minx’s Plain Janes sells 3201 copies, none of the other four Minx titles even manages to crack a meager 800 copies sold in the bookstore environment. Aren’t those books specifically designed for the bookstores, and the customers that shop there?

– Brian Hibbs

I think that’s been assumed, but the more I look at the Minx line, the more I think it exists to be a solution to a non-existent problem. DC looked at all the teen girls reading and buying manga and decided that they deserved a piece of that market. But those girls were plenty happy with the product they already had. What incentive do they have to spend the same money on shorter books without the serial hook?
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Kyle Baker’s new family cartoon book is finally here! It was due last July, but I’m sure it’s worth the wait. It’s a book-length story instead of a collection of short pieces (as the previous volume Do These Toys Belong Somewhere? was). From the press release:

“After the success of the previous collection, I really wanted to tackle a longer story,” said Baker. “Considering this is all based off my crazy household, there was no lack of material! It’s a true family comic, released in time to give to Mom this Valentine’s Day!”

Like its previous volume, THE BAKERS: BABIES & KITTENS shines a spotlight on family life like no other graphic novel out there. When danger-allergic Dad forbids the family to adopt a cat, Mom and the kids do the only logical thing: they adopt it anyway!

Ooh, allergies, I can relate. It’s out now, 96 color pages for $18.99.

I was dismayed when I noticed in the latest Previews that Steady Beat Book 3 was listed as “cancelled by publisher”, because I have very much enjoyed the previous volumes. Then I saw that the author was having discussions with her publisher over whether the series should end with book 3 (Tokyopop’s choice) or 4 (her preference). Uh oh. (That thread also has some interesting lessons about art as a profession and speculation about the publisher’s decision-making.) So I emailed Tokyopop, who reassured me that the book was just running late, with no reschedule date yet. Whew! I’m glad there’s still hope, assuming all the decisions can get hammered out.

Right this minute, Amazon has the Marvel Vault book for just over $20, or 58% off the $50 list price just over $16! That’s a 68% discount. We have one (and KC’s working on a review, which might take a while, given how much there is to go through), and it’s really cool. Roy Thomas and Peter Sanderson tell the history of Marvel, accompanied by reproductions of artifacts. In little plastic pockets reside facsimile Bill Everett sketches, for example, or copies of Marvel Christmas cards or fan group memorabilia or Marvel Stamps (from the comics, not the post office ones). It’s a great deal on a fun coffee table book.

It’s since been announced that Vertigo will publish Demo in May of this year. That made sense, for several reason: Wood’s currently writing both DMZ and Northlanders for them; Demo is at core a superhero title, albeit an indy-twisted one; and DC’s one of the best for getting and keeping graphic novels in bookstores. (An area where rumors have been swirling around AIT, based on some creators reporting out-of-stock difficulties.)

Today, Brian Wood announced that he’s pulling another book from AIT: Public Domain, a book about the design and creation of Wood’s first major project, Channel Zero. However, this one is taking a different route. Wood mentions that it’s out of print, and he has placed it online for free download, accompanied by a donation button and a link to an Amazon store. (The free giveaway is a popular choice lately among forward-looking creators and publishers.)

Rumors about AIT were a side effect of this action, so I thought I’d take a look at their publishing history over the last three years. Here’s all of their publications that shipped through Diamond, in rough publication order and with short notes. Starred (*) are comic-format; others are graphic novels.

2005:
Proof of Concept (collection of pitches written by publisher Larry Young)
Couriers 3 (written by Brian Wood)
Scurvy Dogs: Rags to Riches (art by publisher’s production coordinator)
Filler (creators Rick Spears and Rob G. have since formed their own publisher)
True Story Swear to God 2 (creator Tom Beland moved to Image after public disputes with the publisher)
* Black Diamond: On Ramp (written by publisher)
Smoke & Guns
Electric Girl 3 (I miss this title; don’t know what the creator’s doing now)
Full Moon Fever
Sunset City (creator is self-publishing new work)
Colonia 2 (creator slow; book 3 announced for 2009)
Demo Collection (already discussed)

Also two prose books:
Demo Scriptbook (also reverted)
Surviving Grady

2006:
* Sky Ape: King of Girls (fourth and final series volume, not listed on AIT website)
Continuity (released for free in PDF form)
Shatter (reprint of early computer comic)
Rock Bottom
Seven Sons

2007:
First Moon (Xeric Award winner; AIT-distributed)
Giant Robot Warriors (Re-release with new slipcover)
Last Sane Cowboy & Other Stories (collects Isotope Award-winning minicomics)
Homeless Channel (debut graphic novel)
* Black Diamond 1-4 (written by publisher)
Monster Attack Network

From 11 to 4 to 3 graphic novels (not counting re-releases and books they only distributed)… it’s easy to see why people wonder how the publisher is doing. Especially since Larry Young made the company by seeming to be everywhere online, and now it’s hard to find him except at the company site. And certainly, having a child (born June 2007) will cause all kinds of changes.

Fundamentally, it’s none of a reader’s business if creators and publishers, once appearing to be fast friends, now find their business decisions going in different directions. But curiosity is a basic human drive, especially in today’s connected world.

Update: Made a couple of additional notes above, and received the following in response to a request for comment from Larry Young.

I don’t have anything new to add to what I wrote to Rich Johnston back in July of 2006. We’ve been publishing now for nine years, and the whole thing has always ebbed and flowed. That’s just the nature of the business.

So fans looking for an explanation from the previously outgoing publisher will have to look elsewhere.

“The collection has to have a focus,” said Anne Ribble, executive secretary of the Bibliographical Society. “It can be a focus on a theme, or all books by a certain author, or all books from a press in a particular time.” Entrants must submit a list of the books they have collected, show a depth of knowledge in these works, and write a short essay on the collection’s contents.

Why am I mentioning this? Because the second place winner last time they held the contest was selected for his collection of “Daredevil comics and graphic novels”. Good for him, and good for the judges!

The Harvey Awards will be presented September 27, 2008 at the Baltimore Comic-Con.

Graphic novel publisher First Second has announced their books planned for Spring 2008, and I’m excited! Here are the ones I’m particularly looking forward to.

Kaput and Zosky
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Kaput and Zosky

by Lewis Trondheim, April, $13.95

I remember these wacky aliens from reading their stories in Trondheim’s Fantagraphics series The Nimrod. They’re a hoot! First Second has some sample pages available so you can see for yourself. They want to conquer worlds, but they’re so darn bad at it!

Little Vampire
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Little Vampire

by Joann Sfar, May, $13.95

I just finished Sfar’s Vampire Loves, and I quite enjoyed it. (Supposedly, that character later ages into this little guy. Yes, backwards.) And I’d seen some of these books in their original French, and I liked them enough to try and read them in translation. (An activity I quickly gave up on — it’s been too long since high school language class.) So I’m glad to see that First Second is making it easy to read the cute adventures.

Life Sucks
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Life Sucks

by Jessica Abel, Gabe Soria, and Warren Pleece, May, $19.95

Young adult lives and loves among the undead. Pleece previously worked on Deadenders and Hellblazer, and his style looks great for this. It’s gotten a good review already. Plus, I like Abel’s work.

Drawing Words and Writing Pictures

Drawing Words and Writing Pictures
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by Jessica Abel and Matt Madden, June, $34.95

But THIS is the one I anticipate most of all. I adored Madden’s previous book about comics, 99 Ways to Tell a Story, and I expect this “course on comics creation” to be as much or more enlightening. It promises 15 lessons focused on storytelling, from concept to comic creation, plus homework and additional reading suggestions, suitable for either a college course or independent study. Best of all, Abel and Madden have taught similar courses, so they know what they’re talking about through practice.

Geary is getting a separate deal from us as we feel we have the moral obligation, if not legal one, to do so.

That approach, of doing the right thing regardless of legal requirements, has made me much more interested in seeing this book. Bravo, Papercutz!

Given my love for his work, though, I was excited to hear that the next release was Great Expectations by Rick Geary.

Great Expectations is a full-color hardcover, 56 pages long, at a size of 6 1/2” by 9”, a cover price of $9.95, and the ISBN 978-1-59707-097-3. In both the prose novel and the graphic novel, the homeless orphan Pip falls desperately in love with the beautiful but shallow Estella. Pip struggles to prove himself worthy of Estella while a mysterious benefactor intervenes in the boy’s life.

It’s not new work, but a reprint of a 1990 First Comics release. The hardcover binding should make it more school- and library-friendly, which I suspect are the key audience targets. Nice price point for that.

1. Doctor 13: Architecture & Mortality by Brian Azzarello and Cliff Chiang
2. Cairo by G. Willow Wilson and M.K. Perker
   These two books surprised me most this year. The first presented an up-to-date yet completely new take on forgotten superheroes, reassuring me that there were still imaginative things to be said with that tired old genre without resorting to sordid sex and excessive violence. Gorgeous art by someone with a solid grasp of all the necessary skills helps. The second came out of nowhere (at least for me, who hadn’t heard of it or the creators previously), tackling a Middle Eastern adventure in a modern, exciting way with distinctive, emotional characters and a thought-provoking take on a significant part of the world.
3. Nothing Better by Tyler Page
   Everyone thinks they can do a story of college life, because it seems so simple, especially to the majority of the audience who’ve been through academia. That’s not the case, because realistic characters, and especially dialogue, are harder to do than you might think. Page gets it right. He even covers a subject most are afraid to tackle in depth, religious belief, with sensitivity and understanding through the story of two first-year roommates getting to know each other and themselves.
4. Alice in Sunderland by Bryan Talbot
   Not as much a graphic novel as a happening, made up of bits and pieces of every kind of image and graphic design. An unusual blend of pictures and text that eschews the usual panel borders or page grids to immerse the reader in a phantasmagoric trip through Talbot’s mind and the history of this particular area of Northeast England. Nearly impossible to describe accurately, it must be experienced.
5. Exit Wounds by Rutu Modan
   A quiet exploration of family in the face of Tel Aviv terrorism told through deceptively simple styling. The most “novelistic” of the books on this list.
6. Age of Bronze: Betrayal Part One by Eric Shanower
7. A Treasury of Victorian Murder: The Saga of the Bloody Benders by Rick Geary
   Both of these are just plain old good comic storytelling with juicy subjects. Age of Bronze retells the Trojan War with detailed, precise linework and emphasis on the people politics of the day. Victorian Murder is the historical equivalent of a tacky talk show, exploring what drives people to graphic crimes in long-ago times. This time, it’s a murderous family in frontier Kansas knocking off travelers in Geary’s distinctive thick-lined style.
8. First in Space by James Vining
   An impressive debut that reminds us of the contributions animals have made to science through the story of the first chimpanzee in space.
9. Re-Gifters by Mike Carey, Sonny Liew, and Marc Hempel
   The best of DC Comics’ Minx line, aimed at teenage girls, follows the same “young woman finding herself” formula, but it does it so well.
10. The Annotated Northwest Passage by Scott Chantler
    This reissue collects the adventure series in a handsome hardcover with author’s notes. It covers the struggle over possession of a key fort on the Canadian wilderness frontier just before the Seven Years War. Chantler’s art combines the best of a simplified, cartoon-influenced style with historical research for the story of an old-fashioned hero.

And then there’s my favorite manga of 2007 or my best of 2006 list for comparison.