Dynamite: Five Years and Counting

While many have proclaimed the "death of the pamphlet" where periodical comic books are concerned, a few companies have been able to prove that it still has a lot of life left in it. Five-year-old Dynamite Entertainment is one of the success stories in recent years with a mix of licensed and creator-owned titles.

‘Wimpy Kid’ Becomes Hit Zombie Parody for Papercutz

Papercutz, a tween-focused graphic novel publisher, seems to have caught lightning in a bottle as demand for its zombie parody of Jeff Kinney's bestselling children's book, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, is sending the publisher back for a second and third printing. The title has sold about 30,000 copies since early November. Papercutz publisher Terry Nantier, who published the graphic novel anthology...

Royal Flush Magazine Doubles Down

Fans of Royal Flush magazine have had to wait more than a year for the sixth installment of the comics- and interview-packed independent arts publication—a wait that was unexpectedly extended even longer when retailers including Borders, Barnes & Noble, Hot Topic and Hastings refused to carry the magazine without poly-bags, on account of the potentially "offensive" material within.

Comics Briefly

Geoff Johns Tabbed as C2E2 Guest of Honor; Carla Speed McNeil, Sarah Ryan Team To Create New Vertigo GN; New Silent Film from Gaiman; Kevin Baker on NPR with Luna Park; First Look at the New Spider-Man Parade Balloon.; This Week @ Good Comics for Kids; and This Week @ The Beat

Panel Mania: Goats: The Corndog Imperative

Goats: The Corndog Imperative is the second collection of the webcomic Goats by Jonathan Rosenberg. In this seven page preview two characters are stuck in a bar in an alternate dimension, where other strange people keep popping in. Goats: The Corndog Imperative will be released by Del Rey on December 1.

Comics Reviews: 11/17/09

Children's Book Reviews: 11/16/2009

In this week's children's book reviews: picture books from Peter McCarty, David McPhail, Sandra Boynton, and Arnold and Adrianne Lobel; fiction from Iain Lawrence, Mike Lupica, James Patterson, and Peter Lerangis; and a round-up of the latest pop-up books to hit the market.

Little, Brown Inks Snicket Deal with Handler

Daniel Handler, who had a long and successful run with his Lemony Snicket-penned A Series of Unfortunate Events series at HarperCollins, is moving to Little, Brown Books for Young Readers in a five-book deal. Under the agreement, Handler will write four Lemony Snicket titles in a new series, with the first due out in 2012. Before that series hits, LBYR will release a Handler young adult novel in 2011 that will feature full-color illustrations by Maira Kalman.

Eddie Campbell’s Life-Sized Comics

Emerging from the British small press scene of the 1980s, Eddie Campbell has since produced a body of thinly-veiled autobiographical comics featuring his stand-in character “Alec” (the pseudonym has been dropped in recent years). These works are distinguished visually by Campbell’s fluid, pen-and-ink technique, which marries the observed realism of classic continuity strips with the loose efficiency of a courtroom sketch artist (a vocation Campbell has practiced).

Comics Programming Grows at the Miami Book Fair

After adding a full slate of programming focused on comics and graphic novels for the first time at last year’s fair, The Miami Book Fair International, scheduled November 8-15 in downtown Miami, returns with new additions to its slate of comics events, panels and workshops.

Del Rey To Publish ‘The Talisman’ as Comic Book Series

In what may be a first at a major trade book publisher, Del Rey Books is releasing its first serialized periodical comic, an adaptation of Stephen King and Peter Straub's The Talisman. The series will be released under a new imprint called Del Rey Comics.

Maid in the U.S.A: Kaoru Mori’s ‘Emma’

In 2006, when CMX, DC Comics’ manga imprint, released volume one of Kaoru Mori’s Victorian Era manga series, Emma, American manga readers had their first taste of Japan’s fascination with both maids and romance. Three years later, Emma will come to a close in December when CMX releases the final volume in this series.

Comics Briefly

Alien Legion Comes to Movies, Returns to Comics; Brian Bendis to Teach Comics Course; James Kolchalka Exhibits "Little Paintings"; This Week @ The Beat; and This Week @ Good Comics for Kids

Panel Mania: Alec: The Years Have Pants (A Life-Sized Omnibus)

Alec: The Years Have Pants (A Life-Sized Omnibus) is a collection of Eddie Campbell's autobiographical comics told from the perspective of his alter-ego, Alec MacGarry. The book is indeed life-sized in its scope, depicting the progression of his life from youthfull pub-crawls to the responsibilites of adulthood. Alec will be released by Top Shelf in December.

Review: Stir: Mixing It Up in the Italian Tradition

Barbara Lynch, chef-owner of Boston’s No. 9 Park, delivers a gorgeous, mouth-watering book that will delight her fans. She offers an ample selection of starters, including quick chicken liver pâté and brioche pizza dough; hearty soups and salads; a substantial section on pasta; fish offerings including pan-fried cod with chorizo and clam ragout; and poultry ranging from lemony breaded chicken cutlets to spice-rubbed roast goose.

Cooking the Books with Luisa Weiss

Cookbook editor and food blogger Luisa Weiss recently sold a memoir, My Berlin Kitchen, to Viking. On her blog, The Wednesday Chef, Weiss explained, “I'm moving back to Berlin and I'm writing a book, about Berlin, about my life, about cooking and home and family and love.” She talked to PW from her office at Stewart, Tabori and Chang, where she’s wrapping things up before departing for Berlin.

Vook Launches First Cookbook

The new Emeryville, Calif., company that blends text and video last week announced the arrival of its first cookvook, The Breakaway Japanese Kitchen by Eric Gower, which Kodansha first published in 2003. The vook features recipes and professionally-shot videos showing Gower preparing contemporary Japanese dishes such as roasted hamachi with miso-apricot glaze and udon with herby pesto. For $5.99, viewers can stream the vook from the Web or download it to their iPhone or iPod touch.

The Best Food Books of 2009

Last week’s issue of PW listed our editors’ picks for the best books of the year. Five out of the 100 were books about food: Ad Hoc at Home, Born Round, Gourmet Today, Lidia Cooks from the Heart of Italy and Momofuku. While we’re the first to agree those books deserve props, here are 10 more (plus 10 honorable mentions) from this year that also warrant attention.

Recipe Report: Crème Brûlée from French Feasts

Crunchy, creamy, sweet and a little burnt—who doesn’t like crème brûlée? The iconic French dessert is actually easy to make, and, if you do it right, entails firing up a blow torch for a little drama. This recipe, from French Feasts: 299 Traditional Recipes for Family Meals & Gatherings by Stéphane Reynaud (Stewart, Tabori & Chang), is simple and elegant.

Short Order: November 9

In this issue's round-up of cookbook-related news, pierogi lovers celebrate The Veselka Cookbook; a food-centric series of discussions, readings and tastings takes place in New York; Diane Sawyer greets her sister-in-law, Su-Mei Yu on air to talk Thai recipes; Pioneer Woman signs on for a memoir, a new cookbook and two kids' books; Californians party for My Nepenthe; and Eleven Madison Park gets a book deal.