Comics Briefly: 8/31/10

Read Comics In Public Day, Wertham's Papers Open to Public, 2010 Harvey Award Winners, Kirkman's Prose Walking Dead Story Previewed, Image Comics Gets iPad App, Bruce Wayne & Dick Grayson to be Batman at Once, Shawn Martinborough interviewed by BET, Anti-Comics Political Campaign Ad, the "Crisis" Around Collaboration; Kids Comic con on Kickstarter; This Week @ Good Comics For Kids, This Week @ The Beat

Phoebe Potts Breaks Some Eggs, Makes a Memoir

A graphic novel tackling infertility could be grim, especially when it doesn't end with the desired baby. When it's done with the spirit and humor that Potts brings to her story, though, it's nearly impossible to put down. Phoebe Potts' Good Eggs will be published in September by HarperCollins. Overwhelmingly likeable on the page, Potts tells the story of her and her husband's frustrated efforts to have a child with equal parts comedy and pure narrative skill.

Round Table, SmarterComics Offer Comics Versions of Self-help, Business Books

Book packager Writers of the Round Table has teamed up with nonfiction comics publisher SmarterComics to produce a line of comics works based on bestselling business, motivational and personal self-help titles. The SmarterComics line of adaptations will launch in 2011 with books based on bestsellers by tough-love personal motivator Larry Winget, Latino entrepreneur Robert Renteria; sales and marketing guru Tom Hopkins, performance psychologist John Eliot and internet distribution visionary and Wired magazine editor-in-chief, Chris Anderson.

Panel Mania: Koko Be Good

Koko is a troublemaker, yet spurred by meeting Jon, decides to "be good." Jon, on the other hand, is contemplating whether he should move with his girlfriend to Peru on a humanitarian mission or stay and pursue his own music career. Jen Wang's first graphic novel, Koko Be Good, follows these characters as they attempt to come to terms with others' expectations as well as their expectations of themselves. Koko Be Good will be released by First Second on September 14.

Comics Reviews: 8/30/10

Lerner's Graphic Universe Keeps Growing

Despite the economic downturn and declines in some sectors of the graphic novel market, Lerner Graphic Universe, the comics division of Lerner Publishing Group, has continued to grow and continues to expand its list of graphic novels aimed at the trade, school, and library markets.

Comics Briefly: 8/24/2010

Islamic Comic The 99 to Crossover with Justice League; Millar's Clint Open for Submissions; Ignatz Award Nominees Announced; Baltimore Comic-Con This Weekend.; Comics at the Brooklyn Book Festival; Comics 4 Comix Cartoon Art Museum Fundraiser; Keith Giffen Returns to Comics Art; Call For Information: PW Feature on Graphic Novels as Gifts; This Week @ Good Comics For Kids; and This Week @ The Beat

Like A Brick Upside Your Head: George Herriman's "Tiger Tea"

Comics archaeologist Craig Yoe strikes again with Krazy + Ignatz in “Tiger Tea,” a handsome collected edition from IDW under the Yoe Books imprint. George Herriman’s creation Krazy Kat was one of the first examples of graphic storytelling that frequently crossed the line from “mere” funny pages fodder into the realms of heady art, and this collection showcases the author’s flair for rampaging narrative absurdity.

After Scanlations: Manga Publishers Look to Offer Legal Digital Access

In the wake of an alliance of Japanese and U.S. manga publishers determined to put a stop to illegal scanlations, publishers are trying to figure out how to reach the ever-growing number of fans who consume manga in digital formats before the manga pirates do it for them.

Passion, Ideas and Teamwork: The Stanford Graphic Novel Project

Since 2008, the Stanford Graphic Novel Project--part of the creative writing program at Stanford University--has produced a book-length graphic novel per session, a total of three full-length titles created by a staff of writers, artists and production workers who are actually students enrolled in the class to learn the craft of creating serious nonfiction comics.

Panel Mania: Anne Frank: The Anne Frank House Authorized Graphic Biography

In this selection of pages taken from throughout a new graphic biography of the murdered Jewish teenage writer Anne Frank, we see the birth of Anne Frank in 1929, the rise of Hitler and Nazism in the years to the follow, the efforts of her father Otto Frank to hide the family, their eventual discovery and capture in the secret annex in Amsterdam and imagined scenes from the Nazi concentration camp where Anne Frank was murdered. Written by Sid Jacobson and illustrated by Ernie Colon in conjunction with Anne Frank House, Anne Frank: The Anne Frank House Authorized Biography will be published September 14 by Hill & Wang.

Comics Review: 8/23/2010

Diana Gabaldon's first graphic novel; a collection of Richard Thompson's beloved Cul-de-Sac strip and a comics history of the indigenous people of North America highlight this week's reviews..

Comics Briefly: 8/17/10

Stan Lee Sued for Copyright Infringement; Delayed Batwoman Arriving This November; Read Comics In Public Day is August 28; Inkwell Awards Open for Voting; Comixology 2-Day Anniversary Sale; Zenescopes' Charmed Sells Out; Last 'Wonderland' Hardcover; This Week @ Good Comics For Kids; and This Week @ The Beat

The Good Book

I often credit Neil Gaiman for drawing me into the world of comics, but on a recent visit to my mom's house, I realized that the true origin of my comics reading was--shall we say a higher power? On the shelf at my mom's house was a fat red-bound hardcover book--The Picture Bible by Iva Hoth and Andre LeBlanc, first published in 1978. The first graphic novel I ever read.

Panel Mania: A Drunken Dream and Other Stories

A Drunken Dream and Other Stories collects short stories spanning the career of Moto Hagio, an innovative Shojo manga artist. This collection includes 10 stories ranging from 1970 to 2007, and in this preview there are excerpts from four stories: "A Drunken Dream," "The Child Who Comes Home," "Iguana Girl," and "The Willow Tree." A Drunken Dream and Other Stories will be released by Fantagraphics on September 27th.

Killing Shakespeare for Fun and Profit

Created and written by Anthony Del Col and Conor McCreery with art by Andy Belanger, 'Kill Shakespeare' is a clever reshuffling of the Bard's epic plays to create a fictional universe populated by characters from across his works all featured in one big mystery, romance and adventure narrative.

Comics Reviews: 8/16/2010

Two best-selling novelists--Audrey Niffenegger and Janet Evanovich--turn to writing graphic novels, as underground pioneer Joyce Farmer returns with a touching portrait of her aging parents, and Darren White and Eddie Campbell paint a wry portrait of a damaged playwright.

Image Comics Has New Kirkman Imprint, and Two Others

Reinforcing once more the increasingly interconnected worlds of Hollywood and comics publishing, Image Comics has announced several new imprints with varying degrees of Hollywood connections. Making the biggest splash is Skybound, a new division by Image partner Robert Kirkman, who's funding the line with some of the profits from the upcoming AMC Walking Dead TV show based on his zombie apocalypse comic.

Comics Briefly 8/10/2010

Scott Pilgrim Arriving in Theaters, On Adult Swim; Larry Marder Elected CBLDF President; All Vertigo Comics Go Adults-Only on iPad App; Wizzywig Goes Live Online; See The Cubs with Azzarello for Charity; Haaretz Asks Why Aren't Superheroes Big in Israel?; Indian Graphic Novel Boom and Sarnath Bannerjee at The Times of India;; Motley Fool Praises Comics Company Stocks; This Week @ Good Comics For Kids and This Week @ The Beat

Worley Goes All-Ages with 'Scratch9'

Scratch9 is an all-ages comic with a story worthy of Saturday morning cartoons: Scratch, a mischievous cat, runs away from home and winds up as the subject of a science experiment, which accidentally liberates his other eight lives, starting with a sabertooth tiger. Written by Rob Worley and illustrated by Jason Kruse, the four-issue miniseries debuts in August from Ape Entertainment.