Comics Briefly 4/12/2011

2011 Eisner Award Nominations, Comics Announcements from Kapow! Comic Con, Comixology Introduces Comics 4 Kids app, Act-I-Vate Launches New Egyptian Revolution Comic, Nick Cage's $1 Million Comic Found, New MoCCA Courses, George Takei Wants to be Spider-Man, Bill Roundy's New Weekly Bar Comic Strip, This Week @ Good Comics For Kids, This Week @ The Beat

Comics Reviews: 4/11/11

WonderCon Expands – But Not Too Much

Fans who were shut out of getting tickets for the San Diego Comic-Con headed north this weekend for WonderCon, the Bay area comics show which celebrated its 25th edition this year. While final attendance numbers are not yet available, director of public relations David Glanzer confirmed that attendance would likely exceed the 39,000 fans that attended last year’s show.

Viz App Brings Manga to the iPad

Viz introduced its iPad app in November 2010 with five volumes of manga. Six months later, the app features over 100 volumes, and last week, Viz broke new ground by releasing vol. 4 of Bakuman on the app before it was released in print.

Panel Mania: Marvel Zombies Christmas Carol

PWCW presents an exclusive preview from the Marvel Zombies Christmas Carol written by Jim McCann and illustrated by David Baldeon. An adaptation of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol featuring Victorian zombies along side Ebeneezer Scrooge and the ghosts of Christmas. The first issue is due out on May 4.

Childrens Comics Reviews: 4/4/11

WonderCon Brings Fans, Publishers, Excitement to San Francisco

Fans who were shut out of getting tickets for the San Diego Comic-Con headed north this weekend for WonderCon, the Bay area comics show which celebrated its 25th edition this year. While final attendance numbers are not yet available, director of marketing and public relations David Glanzer confirmed that attendance would likely exceed the 39,000 fans that attended last year’s show.

Comics Briefly 04/05/2011

Comics Announcements from Wondercon, Archie's Gay Character Kevin Gets A Spinoff Series, Stan Lee Creates Schwarzenegger Cartoon, Tara McPherson’s Candy Store Machine Opens, Houghton Mifflin Acquires Roman and Green’s ‘Teen Boat’, Matt Fraction Live in Portland, The Hooded Utilitarian on Sammy Harkham, This Week @ Good Comics 4 Kids, This Week @ The Beat

Upcoming Comics Events: 4/02/2012

4/3 Avengers vs. X-Men Launch Parties with John Romita Jr., Ed Brubaker & more in NYC, Los Angeles & Overton, KS 4/7 Larry Hama Signing in Somerville, MA, 4/19 Toonseum Fundraiser Party with Doug Sneyd in Pittsburgh, PA

Comics, Comics: Treasury House or Tombstone?

If, by chance, you’re planning on dressing up as Moses for a costume party, you might want to pick up two hefty new tomes which have similar titles and could easily double as stone tablets: Jerry Robinson’s The Comics: An Illustrated History of Comic Strip Art 1895-2010 (Dark Horse Books) and Brian Walker’s The Comics: The Complete Collection (Abrams). Heavier than the bricks that Ignatz hurled at Krazy Kat and only slightly less deadly in potential squashing power than the anvils that the Coyote tried to drop on the Road Runner, these books are big not only in size but also in scope.

Comics Briefly 3/29/2011

Digital Manga Guild Secures 487 Titles, Banned Egyptian Graphic Novel Comes to English, Stumptown Comics Festival, Kirkman Leads April Fools Zombie Bar Crawl, Radical Debuts R News on YouTube, All Top 10 Graphic Books Bestsellers From Indie Presses, This Week @ Good Comics For Kids, and This Week @ The Beat

NECAC: Using Comics To Make Kids Love Reading

The First New England Comic Arts in the Classroom Conference was held this past weekend at Rhode Island College in Providence, RI. Targeted more toward educators rather than comic book fans, this event sought to provide rationales for using graphic novels in the classroom and expose teachers to the vast array of meaningful, engaging comics available.

Shannon Wheeler, Boom! Studios Ink Three-Book Deal

Cartoonist Shannon Wheeler, creator of the popular satirical cartoon/comics strip Too Much Coffee Man, has signed a three-book deal with Boom! Studios and Boom! Town, its literary comix imprint. The first book to be released under the new deal, Grandpa Won’t Wake Up, an original graphic novel written by Simon Max Hill with art by Wheeler, will be released this fall.

Panel Mania: The Unwritten Vol. 3: Dead Man's Knock

This is the third volume in The Unwritten series, which follows Tom Taylor, the son of the author of a famous children’s fantasy series about a supposedly fictional character named Tommy Taylor. The character Tommy is based on Tom the son, but years after his father’s disappearance, Tom’s life has begun to resemble that of the character. In the latest volume, a new Tommy Taylor novel has been released, a scheme to bring the author out of hiding unfolds and the truth behind Tom’s mysterious benefactor, Lizzie Hexam, is revealed. The Unwritten: Dead Man’s Knock Vol. Three was released in comic shops last week and will be released in general bookstores this week. Written by Mike Carey with art by Peter Gross, The Unwritten: Dead man's Knock is published by Vertigo.

After A Slow 2010 Comics Retailers Look to 2011 For Growth

Despite the slow economic recovery, owners and managers of comics shops contacted for our annual, informal survey of comics retailers said they are generally optimistic about the comics market, citing a good holiday season and healthier sales in January and February. But retailers also emphasized cited the need to adjust to new consumer buying patterns.

Warner Bros. Takes Control of DC Comics' Licensed Publishing

Warner Bros. Consumer Products has taken over global licensed publishing responsibilities from its sister division, DC Comics. The move includes all formats licensed to third-party publishers; DC's New York office will continue to publish and handle global subsidiary rights for its core comic books and graphic novels.

Adam Hines' 'Duncan The Wonder Dog' Awarded Lynd Ward Prize for Graphic Fiction

Duncan The Wonder Dog, a debut graphic novel by Adam Hines, has been awarded the inaugural annual Lynd Ward Prize for Graphic Fiction by the Pennsylvania Center for The Book. Published by Adhouse Books, Duncan the Wonder Dog, was named a PW Best Book and recently was nominated for an L.A. Times Book Award.

Wowio Acquires, Relaunches Spacedog Digital Comics Imprint

Continuing to revamp and reposition its strategic business model, Wowio.com, an online hub for the aggregation, creation and distribution of digital content, is launching the newly acquired Spacedog Entertainment, a digital comics imprint with a library of original comics properties that include previously released print works as well as comics properties that have been adapted into feature films. Wowio plans updated versions of many Spacedog properties that will be serialized digitally through the Wowio/Spacedog website.

C2E2 Rebounds with a Good Second Year

After a disappointing first year in which the convention was dwarfed by the venue, the Chicago Comics and Entertainment Expo (or C2E2 as it's known) had a strong sophomore effort, with attendance up 24% to 34,000, from 2010's 27,500. The extra 6,500 attendees all fit into a new hall which was better configured for the show, according to Reed vp of books, publishing and pop culture, Lance Fensterman. He also noted that a new logo which emphasized the "comic and entertainment" part of the show better reflected the contents.

Comics Briefly: 3/22/2011

New York’s The Strand Bookstore Celebrates Comics; Kodansha Announces the Return of Sailor Moon; Doug Wright and Reuben Award Nominations; Comics Industry Helps Japan's Recovery Effort; R. Crumb Special Exhibit at the Society of Illustrators in NYC; This Week @ Good Comics For Kids; and This Week @ The Beat