Once I was told that Friends of Lulu was dead, I was curious to know more about what happened. Kynn Bartlett, one of the interim Board of Directors members who attempted to resuscitate the group after the then-president’s abrupt public departure, agreed to answer my questions. I want to get this published, not to dance on the group’s grave or wallow in a very sad turn of events, but to capture publicly what happened for historical and educational purpose. Q: […]

Dark Horse’s Digital Retailer Exclusive Program, a plan to use comic shops to distribute codes for free online comics, launches today with the release of B.P.R.D.: Casualties. (Who’s got the pool on how soon it shows up on sharing networks?) That launch link has the list of participating retailers. From my perspective, I can think of six local stores in Richmond, Virginia — and none are listed. (I’m not surprised. When I first wrote about this plan, I sent email […]

No one should be surprised after the news earlier this month that Friends of Lulu, the non-profit organization dedicated to getting more girls and women involved in comics, officially lost its non-profit status, but I have just heard from one of the interim group Directors that the group is “pretty much dead”. I’m not surprised, although I was hopeful something could be saved from the ruins the previous president left behind. No official announcement will be made. I have asked […]

Jeffrey Trexler, at the Comics Journal website, has been exploring what will happen to the Comic Code archives now that it’s defunct, as is the organization that maintained it, the Comics Magazine Association of America. First, he reviewed the organization history, and most recently, he’s attempted to find out what happened to their archives. Strangely, DC took custody but refused to answer questions about them or allow anyone associated with them to talk to Trexler, himself a lawyer. The two […]

Dark Horse’s digital newsletter, promoting their online comic purchases, is always interesting to read. It points out their new digital releases and any special offers. And yesterday, it sent a very mixed message: It’s finally here! Dark Horse Presents is now available digitally! The legendary premiere anthology is back, and better then ever. Get seventy pages of comics for only $3.99! Be sure to pick up the print version of DHP #1, loaded with content not found in the digital […]

The troubled comic organization Friends of Lulu, founded in 1994 to promote women in comics as both readers and professionals, is no longer a non-profit organization. The IRS has automatically revoked the group’s federal tax-exempt status as of May 15, 2010, “for failing to file an annual information return or notice with the IRS for three consecutive years.” (FoL is on the New York state list, since that was the last filed contact address.) This became known as a likely […]

Now that I’m caught up on writing about the DC relaunch news itself, let’s take a look at the titles announced so far. They’ve been trickling out in themed posts: The Big Guns: Justice League #1 by Geoff Johns and Jim Lee I’m not excited by the creators, but I will check it out as the flagship; it should be a good indicator of the tone of the line. Wonder Woman #1 by Brian Azzarello and Cliff Chiang Definitely. Anything […]

I know, you’ve already read about this everywhere on the internet, but I wanted to 1) mark it here for posterity and 2) share my thoughts. DC Wins Publicity The news first broke last Tuesday, May 31, in USA Today, followed by a DC blog post. There were two major parts to the announcement: 1. Starting in September, the entire line of DC universe superhero comics will restart with new #1s, featuring revamped versions of the classic characters. The first […]