The first issue of Archie rang triumphant in the comic book space with the creative team of Fiona Staples and Mark Waid delivering something akin to an earnest take on a beloved American icon. Archie Andrews is everything but traditional himself nowadays that he’s clean cut and and an earnest comic book lead. There’s no grit on […]

The American Library Association (ALA) has released its annual list of the most frequently challenged library books of the year. Sherman Alexie’s National Book Award-winning young adult novel, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, claimed the top spot.

Throughout the year 2014, the ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom received 311 reports of challenged books. Click here to check out an infographic that explores “Banned Books Through History.”

Here’s an excerpt from the ALA report: “The lack of diverse books for young readers continues to fuel concern…A current analysis of book challenges recorded by ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF) from 2001 – 2013, shows that attempts to remove books by authors of color and books with themes about issues concerning communities of color are disproportionately challenged and banned. A challenge is defined as a formal, written complaint filed with a library or school requesting that a book or other material be restricted or removed because of its content or appropriateness.”

10 Most Frequently Challenged Library Books of 2014

1. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie

2. Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi

3. And Tango Makes Three by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell with illustrations by Henry Cole

4. The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison

5. It’s Perfectly Normal by Robie Harris

6. Saga written by Brian Vaughan and illustrated by Fiona Staples

7. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

8. The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

9. A Stolen Life by Jaycee Dugard

10. Drama by Raina Telgemeier

Archie Comics has revealed the 22 variant covers created for the first issue of the re-booted Archie comic series. The book itself, due out on July 8th, features writing by Mark Waid and interior artwork by Fiona Staples.

We’ve embedded the full image for Staples’ cover design above—what do you think? Follow this link to the publisher’s blog post to see all of the designs. (via CNN.com)

Ryan Ferrier and Valentin Ramon’s D4ve, a Monkeybrian digital original about a middle aged robot who yearns for one last battle, is coming to print from IDW in February, with a new cover by Fiona Staples. Nice, eh? PR below:

The partnership between IDW Publishing and Monkeybrain has brought some of the most critically acclaimed digital comic-book series to an entirely new readership, and both are pleased to welcome another to the printed page: D4VE.
 
A war for Earth was fought and the robots have won but the results are far less “brave new world” and more of the “same old, same old.” Starting February 2015, fans of print comics will get the opportunity to meet D4VE, a great robot war hero who now is trapped behind a desk at a soul-sucking day job.
 
D4VE is the brainchild of series writer Ryan Ferrier and artist Valentin Ramon. In the five-issue series, D4VE battles traffic, mortgage payments, and the mundane when all he wants to do is battle monsters like in his glory days. But those days are gone…right? Little does D4VE know that something big is going to help snap him out of this mid-life: crisis.
 
“D4VE is a story so close to our hearts, and to be able to bring our special brand of bizarre to the monthly print market is, frankly, insanely freaking cool,” said series writer, Ferrier. “Monkeybrain blessed us with the opportunity to tell this story digital-first, and IDW is the perfect home—one built on unique and daring storytelling—for our madness to reach even more readers.


We’d have to invent a new word to express our excitement, so we did: we are totally superextribbulated for D4VE to come out through IDW.”
 
“Having D4VE find a new audience in print through IDW is a huge honor,” said series artist, Ramon. “They are a publisher that inspires so much of what we have aimed to do with our story—pushing boundaries and expectations, featuring characters you can connect with. We hope our readers love D4VE as much as we loved creating it.”
 
Come early 2015, you can check out the five-issue miniseries that Bloody Disgusting calls “a master class in robotic mid-life crisis… ripe with laughs” and featuring a first-issue cover by Fiona Staples (Saga).

The NC Comicon will be held this year November 15-16 in Durham, NC. I’ve attended the last two years and to be blunt, it’s a blast: a comics focused show in a great setting with lots of artists and enthusiastic fans. The show is expanding this year with more animation screenings—including the US premiere of a Kung Fa Panda short— as part of the second ComiQuest Film Fest. But there are also a ton of great comics artists including Fiona Staples, Sean Murphy, Bob Fingerman and John Paul Leon. John Barrowman provides nerdlebrity appeal. The show is run by retailer Alan Gill and artist Tommy Lee Edwards, and they put the effort in to make this a well rounded event.

This looks to be another really enjoyable show—sadly I won’t be there this time, as I’m “conned out,” but I’m sure it will be a swell time.

PR below:

The North Carolina Comicon is adding an exciting new animation dimension to this year’s event. Rodolphe Guenoden, director of Dreamworks’ highly-anticipated short KUNG FU PANDA: SECRETS OF THE SCROLL, will present the film as a U.S. premiere exclusive. The screening will be followed by a Q&A with Mr. Guenoden and Stephan Franck, who will present Sony Pictures Animation’ s THE SMURFS: THE LEGEND OF SMURFY HOLLOW, which earned him an Annie Award nomination for Best Director. Franck will also introduce a screening of fan-favorite THE IRON GIANT, on which he was supervising animator. Another NCCC exclusive will be Film Roman’s unveiling of a new animated action-comedy written, directed, and presented by renowned illustrator Tommy Lee Edwards called THE VINDICATOR.

This event will be part of the the NC Comicon second annual ComiQuest Film Fest, which includes rare screenings of the animated gems AKIRA and NAUSICAA, alongside the live-action comic book inspired classics TIM BURTON’S BATMAN, FLASH GORDON, CONAN THE BARBARIAN, and more.

Meanwhile, NCCC 2014 also features an exciting line of comics creator panels, with A-list guests such as Fiona Staples, Sean Murphy, Bob Fingerman, John Paul Leon, and INVADER ZIM & MST3K writer Frank Conniff. John Barrowman of DOCTOR WHO and ARROW fame will be greeting fans and conducting a panel with his HOLLOW EARTH and TORCHWOOD co-writer Carole E Barrowman, who is leading a workshop for aspiring writers. With a focus on talent development, NCCC will also provide priceless access to key industry players for aspiring creators, with Valiant Entertainment, Action Lab, and Dark Horse Comics editor-in-chief Scott Allie conducting portfolio reviews alongside other seasoned industry professionals.

“My goal is to make this the kind of convention I dreamed about attending when I was starting out,” says NCCC senior director & co-owner Tommy Lee Edwards. “Comics and fandom are at the heart of NC Comicon, but we also want to celebrate all mediums of creative storytelling with fellow creators who drift from comics to animation to film and everywhere in between. There’s something for everybody at our show- Comic book readers, collectors, cosplayers, and film fans, with many of the industry’s top writers, illustrators, animators, and directors accessible to everybody who wants to visit.”

NC Comicon and the ComiQuest film fest hit historical downtown Durham NC November 15 & 16. For more information, please visit nccomicon.com.

By David Nieves

On SDCC Friday, after a rousing Brian K Vaughan one man show, Saga co-creator Fiona Staples took the room stage for an hour of career and advice for young artists in her own spotlight. Fiona’s time was led by Jennifer de Guzman director of Image Comics Trade Book Sales.

Fiona’s introduction read like a hall of fame induction ceremony. It felt as though the entire hour could just be a reading of everything the artist has accomplished in her career. After the accolades, the ladies jumped into Staples discography of comics beginning with a 24hr comic challenge she did alongside other would be comic makers in a mall food court. Her first professional work was a horror story in 2006 called Done to Death. The book would later be republished through IDW. Her Wildstorm work was touched on and through her early journey it was clear to see how her style has evolved through the artist’s unique lens, particularly seeing a decline of lines contrasted with a rise in her painted style. She credited a time spent in the UK with friend Frazer Irving for teaching her how digital can be used to create “beautiful organic work that doesn’t necessarily look digital.” Of course no Fiona career retrospective would be complete without talking about Saga.

She told the story of being introduced to Brian K Vaughan. Instrumental in getting the two together was acclaimed comics writer Steve Niles. He pointed Vaughan in Staples direction and she received an e-mail from BKV that included the elevator pitch, ” a family wrapped in a space opera.” This would be her first book that would be longer than six issues. When she asked Brian how long he wanted to do the book his answer was, “I want to do it forever.” Fiona Staples would clear her schedule for the rest of her life and we’re all better for it.

One of the most interesting tidbits from behind the scenes of Saga is that Staples reads every script as a fan. She knows very little ahead of time and it shows in the pages she draws. Every reaction we get from a monthly issue is her reaction to BKV’s words. It really is almost like Vaughan writes the book just for Fiona and we’re all along for the ride.

On the screen was her process for doing a page of Saga beginning with very light penciled layouts using photo references that she takes on her laptop, then inking and digital painting. She looks through a tremendous amount of photos to select just the right colors for every scene she paints. With some of the off the wall character death and sex scenes you’d imagine there’s some pretty hilarious photo reference, and there is but it will never see the light of day according to Staples.

Fan questions ran the gamut from the simplicity of her favorite color to the complexity of education in the arts. For the traditionalist out there, Fiona still loves to draw with the hand tools of the trade, but in her view it isn’t the most efficient way to finish a monthly comic. On the topic of the controversies that come about seemingly every issue of Saga. The duo acknowledge what could cause controversy when planning a story arc but always seem to ignore it if the story would be altered in any way.  Her view on traditional cape comics was quite unexpected. Fiona doesn’t have much of desire to do any of the most popular characters, but instead would do a character like Deadman.

The panel closed out with what we can expect from the next few issues of Saga. She teased the crowd by saying ” heartbreak and some jokes.”

When you looked at that large stage with just Fiona and Jennifer, you indeed see the greatest artist of her generation. If you take all her words, mannerisms, and bright smile you see the strength of her artistic desires but also a vulnerability that’s prevalent in Hazel’s story within the pages of Saga. When we look at Fiona Staples, we’re looking at the imagination and vision that will no doubt leave her branded an icon in the comic book industry, but to hear her speak so softly and humbly about her experiences endears the artist to you on an entirely new level.

You can pick up Saga every month and read the random thoughts of Fiona Staples on twitter.

Wednesday, April 2 

The Draftsmen’s Congress at the New Museum2:00pm
235 BoweryThe New Museum has invited the Society of Illustrators to participate in a collaborative project called the Draftsmen’s Congress led by artist Pawell Althamer.  The Society has partnered with the National Cartoonists Society exclusively.  Members will take part in the making of one large drawing that will take up the entire floor of the space in the museum.

Edie Fake Presents Memory Palaces 7:00pm Bureau of General Services- Queer Division hosted by Cage, 83A Hester Street Chicago comics artist Edie Fake and Brooklyn publishers Secret Acres are pleased to debut a monograph of Edie’s recent gallery exhibition, Memory Palaces.  Edie will present his drawings and discuss the genesis behind his project, a radical reimagining of queer spaces in Chicago.

Friday, April 4 Fiona Staples at Midtown Comics, 6:30 – 8:00pm 64 Fulton Street Join MoCCA Arts Festival Guest of Honor Fiona Staples at Midtown Comics downtown location. Robert Williams Mr. Bitchin’ 7:00pm at the SVA Theatre, Beatrice Theatr 333 West 23rd Street between 8th and 9th Avenues Film screening and Q & A with MoCCA Arts Festival Guest of Honor Robert Williams and Director Nancye Ferguson, moderated by culture critic and curator Carlo McCormick. SVA students and Faculty free, $5 General Admission Learn more…     Book Release Party for Glorkian Warrior Delivers A Pizza 7:00pm at Bergen Street Comics, 470 Bergen Street Join James Kochalka for the release of his new book!

After-Party and Awards Ceremony at the Society of Illustrators 7:00 – 11:00pm 128 East 63 Street The Society is hosting an after-party open only to MoCCA Arts Exhibitors, Speakers, Special Guests, and Volunteers. We will also be announcing the winners of the MoCCA Arts Festival Awards of Excellence during a special presentation. Free admission for MoCCA Fest badge holders includes beer, wine and soda plus a small plates buffet.

Sunday, April 6 MoCCA Arts Festival 11:00 – 6:00pm at the 69th Regiment Armory General Admission $5

New York’s MoCCA Festival kicks off on April 5 &6 at the Lexington Armory,and the key art by guest Fiona Staples has just been released. It’s a take off on Breughel’s classic Tower of Babel imagery except with flying carpets. That’s how MoCCA always feels to me.

Along with Staples, Howrd Cruse, Robert Williams and Alison Bechdel will be the guests of honor at this year’s show. While they won’t be able to enjoy a banh mi across the street, it should still be an awesome time.

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Thought Bubble 2013 have announced a second list of guests for their convention this year, which, I notice, means the convention has a brilliant gender parity. Of the 21 guests so far announced, 10 are female!

That might not sound like much, but British conventions have struggled with this in the past – last year’s Kapow Comic Convention was widely criticised for not having any females on the guest-list, to which Mark Millar at the time responded:

“The reason the comic guests are mostly male is because the biggest names in UK comics are male.”

Well, this year’s Thought Bubble Convention currently has a guestlist of ten female creators and eleven males (with that slight disparity being caused by Paul Cornell, ironically!) in total. And joining the previously announced Ming Doyle, Emma Rios, Robin Furth, Annie Wu, Isabel Greenberg, Becky Cloonan, Fiona Staples, will be Jordie Bellaire (a colourist, at a convention?!), Hope Larson, and Emma Vieceli. 

So… I think that pretty effectively shuts down Millar’s argument, eh?

Also just announced are Paul Duffield, Declan Shalvey, Antony Johnston, and Francesco Francavilla. A full guest list can be found here.

In the annals of “very safe predictions” the idea that the first collection of Saga is going to sell very well is right up there. The book—collecting the first six issues of the science fiction drama by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples—isn’t out until October 23rd, but its certain to get a whole new audience for the book. Not that it’s been lacking an audience: the first issue already has already sold over 70,000 copies in various printings. And a low $9.99 price tag makes the barrier to entry pretty low.

And once people jump that barrier they get into a sweeping, addictive story—a galaxy spanning tale of empires and mercenaries and ghosts all after a couple and their newborn infant—has gotten readers hooked. SAGA is taking a little break when the collection comes out, and creator Vaughan was kind enough to share a few thoughts on the schedule and how the first six issues have gone:

THE BEAT: The Saga collection is out in October — how did you arrive at the $9.99 price tag, which is really on the cheaper end of the spectrum for an Image book. Is this cutting into your revenue stream?

BKV: I don’t know, I guess $9.99 seemed like a pretty fair price for the introductory volume of a new series.  Maybe it will cut into our revenue stream, but I’m more interested in getting our story into as many hands as possible than in wringing as much cash as we can out of folks.

Fiona and I would probably be making more money in the short term if we filled the monthly book with annoying ads, or cut the page count down to 20, or charged $3.99 instead of $2.99, but I like to think that giving people more for less buys us a lot of valuable reader loyalty in the long run.

THE BEAT: Will there be any bonus material? I know you WON’T be reprinting the long letters pages?

BKV: No bonus material, you greedy bastards!  Just 160+ pages of astounding Fiona Staples art for less than the cost of a single movie ticket.  That’s all six chapters, including our double-sized debut, unsullied by the presence of my dopey letter column, which is just for our fellow monthly travelers.  Please buy lots.

THE BEAT: How long will the gap for the monthly issues be? Do you think this is going to be the regular publishing schedule for SAGA — six issues and a trade and a break?

BKV: Just two months off!  September is a skip month, trade comes out in October, and we return monthly with Chapter Seven in November.  I understand that brief hiat