By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 4/14/2016
Clear some shelf space and save up some money: Top Shelf is releasing the second and final part of the Complete Bacchus series, and then they're taking part one and The Complete Alec, also by Eddie Campbell, and putting them in a deluxe slipcased edition that will stand tall and proud on your shelf.
By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 9/17/2015
Troy Little is an Eisner-nominated artist who took on the monumental task of adapting the American counterculture classic Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, written by world renowned Gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson, into a graphic novel. Teaming with Top Shelf and IDW, Little has crafted a comic that sticks to the storyline of the book […]
By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 9/1/2015
Cartoonist Alex Robinson is a charter member of the pioneering :”indie comic graphic novel club” with Box Office Poison, an award-winning ensemble slice of life that covers the kind of Brooklyn life that existed before gentrification followed the Kale Trail out east. Originally published in serial form by Antarctic Press, Top Shelf published the collected […]
By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 7/24/2015
Harper College, located in northwest Chicagoland, is a community college serving 40,000 students. Since the 2011-2012 school year, Harper College has a selected a title as part of their “One Book, One Harper” community read. (A community read is where a local library sponsors a community-wide book club featuring one title which is read and discussed locally. […]
By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 7/24/2015
Maybe the biggest highlight of a fairly eventful San Diego Comic Con was the moment when Congressman John Lewis cosplayed as himself, donning the trench coat and backpack he wore to march for voting rights across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, 50 years ago. He led a touching children’s march through the halls of […]
By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 7/2/2015
From the PR… [I’ve highlighted the more exciting events. Feel free to add your favorites in the comments!]
IDW Publishing (Booth #2743) and Top Shelf Productions (Booth #1721) will host an amazing list of talent this year at both their booths. Come by and meet some of the biggest and brightest stars working in comics today!
6:00 – 8:00 Mike Zeck’s Classic Marvel Stories Artist Edition Launch Party! – Mike Zeck (*Check out the show exclusive hardcover!)
6:00 – 8:00 Don Rosa’s Life & Times of Scrooge McDuck Artist Edition Launch Party! – Don Rosa (*Check out the show exclusive hardcover!)
8:00 – 9:00 TMNT: Casey & April! – Irene Koh, Mariko Tamaki (*Check out the show exclusive!)
8:00 – 9:00 Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas Sneak Preview – Troy Little
(*Get a free preview of the upcoming Top Shelf release!)
10:00 – 11:00 Skylanders – Fico Ossio
10:00 – 11:00 WEIRD LOVE & YOE BOOKS! – Craig Yoe (Forelock the Warlock), Clizia Gussoni (Madam Clizia)
11:00 – 12:00 3A Presents – Ashley Wood, William Wray
11:00 – 12:00 My Little Pony – Agnes Garbowska, Tony Fleecs, Thom Zahler, Jeremy Whitley, Bobby Curnow (*Check out the show exclusive!)
12:00 – 1:00 Little Nemo, Onyx, Locke & Key – Gabriel Rodriguez, Eric Shanower, Chris Ryall (*Check out the show exclusives, including a limited edition free poster for the upcoming Locke & Key audiobook from audible.com!)
12:00 – 2:00 TMNT – Kevin Eastman, Tom Waltz, Bobby Curnow
1:00 – 2:00 SUPER SECRET PROJECT* – John Barber, Dan Schoening, Erik Burnham, and SPECIAL GUEST
2:00 – 2:30 Scorpion Cast Signing – Elyes Gabel, Robert Patrick, Katharine McPhee, Eddie Kaye Thomas, Jadyn Wong (*Get a free Scorpion comic!) (*ticketed signing – See employee for Details)
2:00 – 3:00 Bloom County and Beyond, Academia Waltz – Berkeley Breathed
3:00 – 4:00 Jem and the Holograms – Samantha Newark (original Jem voice talent!), Sara Richard, Amy Mebberson, M. Victoria Robado (*Check out the show exclusives!)
3:00 – 4:00 V-Wars, Rot & Ruin – Jonathan Maberry
4:00 – 5:00 X-Files – Joe Harris, Joe Corroney
4:00 – 5:00 Transformers – Brendan Cahill, Corin Howell, Marcelo Matere, John-Paul Bove, Brian Shearer (*Check out the show exclusive!)
5:00 – 6:00 Mike Zeck’s Classic Marvel Stories Artist Edition – Mike Zeck (*Check out the show exclusive hardcover!)
5:00 – 6:00 Don Rosa’s Life & Times of Scrooge McDuck Artist Edition – Don Rosa (*Check out the show exclusive hardcover!)
6:00 – 7:00 Ghostbusters – Erik Burnham, Dan Schoening, Luis Antonio Delgado (*Check out the show exclusive!)
6:00 – 7:00 Walt Disney Comics, Powerpuff Girls – Derek Charm (*Check out the show exclusives!)
10:00 – 11:00 TMNT – Irene Koh, Caleb Goellner, Landry Walker, Erik Burnham, Bobby Curnow (*Check out the show exclusives!)
10:00 – 11:00 Red Light Properties – Dan Goldman
11:00 – 12:00 3A Presents – Ashley Wood, William Wray
11:00 – 12:00 Orphan Black – Graeme Manson, John Fawcett, Jody Houser, Cat Staggs
12:00 – 1:00 Dirk Gently, Chew card game Launch Party! – John Layman, Rob Guillory, Chris Ryall (*Check out the show exclusive!)
12:00 – 2:00 TMNT – Kevin Eastman, Tom Waltz, Bobby Curnow
1:00 – 2:00 Star Trek/Green Lantern Launch Party! – Mike Johnson, Freddie E. Williams III (*Check out the show exclusives!)
2:00 – 3:00 Little Nemo, Onyx, Locke & Key – Gabriel Rodriguez, Eric Shanower, Chris Ryall (*Check out the show exclusives!)
3:00 – 4:00 Star Trek – Scott Tipton, David Tipton, J.K. Woodward, Joe Corroney
3:00 – 4:00 Eric Powell’s The Goon Artist Edition Launch Party! – Eric Powell (*Check out the show exclusive hardcover!)
4:00 – 5:00 Judas: The Last Days – W. Maxwell Prince
4:00 – 5:00 Wild Blue Yonder – Zach Howard, Austin Harrison
5:00 – 6:00 Mike Zeck’s Classic Marvel Stories Artist Edition – Mike Zeck (*Check out the show exclusive hardcover!)
5:00 – 6:00 Don Rosa’s Life & Times of Scrooge McDuck Artist Edition – Don Rosa (*Check out the show exclusive hardcover!)
6:00 – 7:00 Jem and the Holograms – Samantha Newark (original Jem voice talent!), Sara Richard, M. Victoria Robado (*Check out the show exclusives!)
6:00 – 7:00 Transformers – John Barber, Andrew Griffith, Livio Ramondelli, Sara Pitre-Durocher (*Check out the show exclusives!)
10:00 – 11:00 Ghostbusters – Erik Burnham, Dan Schoening, Luis Antonio Delgado (*Check out the show exclusive!)
10:00 – 11:00 Long Distance, The Dreamer – Thom Zahler, Lora Innes
11:00 – 12:00 Don Rosa’s Life & Times of Scrooge McDuck Artist Edition – Don Rosa (*Check out the show exclusive hardcover!)
11:00 – 12:00 My Little Pony –Tony Fleecs, Andy Price, Jeremy Whitley, Bobby Curnow, Jay Fosgitt (*Check out the show exclusive!)
12:00 – 1:00 Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas Sneak Preview – Troy Little (*Get a free preview of the upcoming Top Shelf release!)
12:00 – 1:00 Littlest Pet Shop – Georgia Ball
12:00 – 1:00 Edward Scissorhands – Drew Rausch
1:00 – 2:00 Onyx, Little Nemo Locke & Key – Gabriel Rodriguez, Chris Ryall (*Check out the show exclusives!)
1:00 – 2:00 In the Dark – Rachel Deering, Marguerite Bennett
2:00 – 3:00 Mike Zeck’s Classic Marvel Stories Artist Edition – Mike Zeck (*Check out the show exclusive hardcover!)
2:00 – 3:00 Judge Dredd – Ulises Farinas, Douglas Wolk, Carlos Ezquerra
3:00 – 4:00 March – Congressman John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, Nate Powell
3:00 – 4:00 Nelvana of the Northern Lights – Hope Nicholson
4:00 – 5:00 God is Disappointed in You – Mark Russell, Shannon Wheeler
5:00 – 6:00 X-Files – Joe Harris, Joe Corroney
5:00 – 6:00 Transformers – John Barber, Mairghread Scott, Sara Pitre-Durocher, Corin Howell (*Check out the show exclusives!)
6:00 – 7:00 Cartoon Network – Van Partible (creator of Johnny Bravo)
6:00 – 7:00 Godzilla: Rulers of Earth – Chris Mowry
6:00 – 7:00 V-Wars, Rot & Ruin – Jonathan Maberry
10:00 – 11:00 X-Files – Sam “Mister Sam” Shearon, Joe Corroney
11:00 – 12:00 Skylanders – Fico Ossio
12:00 – 1:00 Onyx, Little Nemo Locke & Key – Gabriel Rodriguez, Chris Ryall (*Check out the show exclusives!)
1:00 – 2:00 Walt Disney Comics, Powerpuff Girls – Derek Charm (*Check out the show exclusive!)
1:00 – 2:00 Godzilla: Rulers of Earth – Chris Mowry
2:00 – 3:00 My Little Pony –Tony Fleecs, Katie Cook, Sara Richard, Jeremy Whitley, Christina Rice, Bobby Curnow (*Check out the show exclusive!)
3:00 – 4:00 Imaginary Drugs – Jeffrey McClelland & Eric M. Esquivel, Ally Cat, Alexis Ziritt
3:00 – 4:00 Star Trek/Green Lantern– Mike Johnson, Freddie E. Williams III (*Check out the show exclusives!)
Swing by booth #1721 to find out when to meet these great creators:
Congressman John Lewis
Andrew Aydin
Nate Powell
Jeff Lemire
Eddie Campbell
Troy Little
Chris Sheridan
Julian Hanshaw
Mark Russell
Shannon Wheeler
Jess Smart Smiley
IDW and Top Shelf have an impressive list of panels that really has something for everyone! *Click on the panel names to be taken you directly to the official Comic-Con 2015 programs website where you can add them to your Schedule and sync them to your phone or calendar.
Thursday July 9th
God Is Disappointed in You
Thursday, 7/9/15, 11:00a.m. – 12:00p.m., Room: 28DE
Hey, nothing personal — that’s what the book says! Writer Mark Russell (Prez) and Eisner Award winning artist Shannon Wheeler (The New Yorker, Too Much Coffee Man) bring to life their hilariously irreverent retelling of the Bible, God Is Disappointed in You (published by Top Shelf). They’ll perform their infamous “Bible in Ten Minutes” slide show and play a selection from the God Is Disappointed in You audiobook, as read by James Urbaniak (The Venture Brothers), recently nominated for an Audie Award for Best Comedy Audiobook. They will also give a sneak preview of the hotly anticipated sequel, Apocrypha Now.
The One and Only IDW Artist’s Editions Panel!
Thursday, 7/9/15, 3:30p.m. – 4:30p.m., Room: 4
Join Artist’s Editions Editor Scott Dunbier as he leads you on a tour of these big and beautiful books! There will be several announcements, a surprise guest or two, and some good old fashioned art talk—is there a better way for a comic art lover to spend a day at Comic-Con?! IDW President Greg Goldstein will once again moderate and add his own perspective on the AE phenomenon!
Friday July 10th
Something Old, Something New! (or, The Revenge of Classic Comic Collections Panel)
Friday, 7/10/15, 11:00a.m. – 12:00p.m., Room: 32AB
Join President of IDW Publishing Greg Goldstein as he reunites the stalwarts (or culprits) of the unprecedented boom in archival publishing for a spirited discussion about the future of classic comic book collections! Joining Greg will be LOAC Founder and Editor Dean Mullaney, renowned comic book historian and editor Craig Yoe, VP of Book Trade Sales at Dark Horse Comics Michael Martens, founder of Sunday Press Peter Maresca, Associate Publisher of Fantagraphics Eric Reynolds and IDW Senior Editor of Special Projects Scott Dunbier. It’s the golden age of archival collections, and if you crave more — or want to beg these guys to stop— this is the panel for you. Free book for every attendee PLUS other giveaways— and, each and every guest has promised to announce a NEW PROJECT so top secret even we don’t know about it yet! Sponsored by the San Diego Comic Art Gallery!
Top Shelf Productions – Live!
Friday, 7/10/15, 12:00p.m. – 1:00p.m., Room: 32AB
Join marketing director Leigh Walton and a lineup of top-flight talent for an all-access look at the incredible new books from beloved indie publisher Top Shelf Productions! Hear and see Eisner-winner Nate Powell (Swallow Me Whole, March) on his powerful new collection You Don’t Say, Chris Sheridan on his over-the-top genre mashup The Motorcycle Samurai, Julian Hanshaw on his quietly staggering widower tale Tim Ginger, and Ray Fawkes (One Soul, Constantine) on his twisted cyber-sensual thriller Junction True (with Vince Locke). Plus the scoop on Eddie Campbell‘s Bacchus, the bestselling March series, and some truly incredible upcoming projects!
Women of Transformers
Friday, 7/10/14, 1:30p.m. – 2:30p.m., Room: 8
From Windblade and Arcee to Strongarm and the brand-new Combiner making her debut at SDCC, female Transformers characters have finally gotten their due—but behind the page and in fandom, even bigger changes have been happening. Join Transformers comics writers Mairghread Scott and Georgia Ball, artists Corin Howell and Sara Pitre-Durocher, Hasbro’s Sarah Carroll, and special guests!
Ghostbusters: Sony, IDW & Cryptozoic Entertainment
Friday, 7/10/2015, 2:00pm – 3:00 pm, Room: 25ABC
Join us in celebrating 30+ years of Ghostbusters, the classic supernatural franchise that defined an era. Learn about new products and plans firsthand from Sony Pictures Consumer Products, hear insight on the ongoing comic series by IDW Publishing, and see a demo of the successfully crowdfunded game by Cryptozoic Entertainment.
IDW: The Best Panel in Recorded History
Friday, 7/10/15, 4:00p.m. – 5:00p.m., Room: 4
This is the big one! Join IDW Chief Creative Officer/Editor-in-Chief Chris Ryall and VP of marketing Dirk Wood lay waste to a room of shocked comic fans. Panelists include Gabriel Rodriguez, Sarah Gaydos, Joe Harris, Mike Johnson, Derek Charm, James Tynion IV, Ulises Farinas, and a special guest with a special announcement.
Saturday July 11th
MARCH with Congressman John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, and Nate Powell
Saturday, 7/11/15, 10:00a.m. – 11:00a.m., Room: 23ABC
His first visit to Comic-Con made national news — now the legendary civil rights icon, US congressman, and #1 bestselling graphic novel author John Lewis returns! Congressman Lewis, co-author Andrew Aydin, and artist Nate Powell re-team to share with you their award-winning March series. You’ll hear about the incredible tour that’s brought the message of March to schools, universities, libraries, and corporate headquarters from coast to coast. You’ll see glimpses of the much-anticipated March: Book Three, covering Mississippi Freedom Summer and the unforgettable Selma-Montgomery March. And of course, you’ll hear Congressman Lewis’s firsthand memories of sit-ins, Freedom Rides, the march on Washington, Selma, and beyond — and the vital power of his message of transformative nonviolence in our world today.
TMNT: The Big Turtle Panel
Saturday, 7/11/15, 1:00p.m. – 2:00p.m., Room: 25ABC
Join IDW Editor Bobby Curnow, writer Tom Waltz and more, for a look back at the past four years of TMNT comics— and a sneak peak at what is to come with new announcements and art!
IDW & Hasbro: Transformers, Jem, Ponies & More!
Saturday, 7/11/14, 2:30p.m. – 3:30p.m., Room: 24ABC
Join IDW Editors John Barber and Bobby Curnow, along with Michael Kelly, Hasbro’s Senior Director, Global Publishing—for a comprehensive overview of all things IDW & Hasbro! Transformers! My Little Pony! Jem! G.I. JOE! Dungeons & Dragons! The inside scoop on the latest news and announcements! Featuring writer Mairghread Scott, artist Agnes Garbowska, and more special guests!
IDW: So, You Want to Be in Comics?
Saturday, 7/11/15, 4:00p.m. – 5:00p.m., Room: 4
Ever wondered what it would take to create your own comic? Or find a publisher that wants it? Want to break into “The Biz”? Why not find out how, from some of those who have? IDW Chief Creative Officer/Editor-in-Chief Chris Ryall, VP of marketing Dirk Wood, artist supreme Gabriel Rodriguez (Locke & Key, Onyx), H.S. Tak (Boy-1), Ulises Farinas, Michael Benedetto (Drive), and other folks who’ve made the jump to “professional comic person” explain how they did it. Plus, some new project announcements.
Spotlight on Craig Yoe
Saturday, 7/11/15, 5:00p.m. – 6:00p.m., Room: 4
Yo, Yoe! Comic-Con special guest Craig “The Indiana Jones of Comics Historians” Yoe is celebrating 50 years of writing and producing fanzines and books about the history of comic books and five years of Yoe Books. He will be interviewed by luminaries Ted Adams (CEO & Publisher of IDW Publishing) Kelley Jones (Batman), Jon Cooke (Comics Creator), Carol Tilley (Wertham debunker), and David Scroggy (Dark Horse). Plus, see a colorful visual slideshow of past highlights and many cool future projects. Free Weird Love and Haunted Horror comic books for all!
Comic Book Legal Defense Fund Comic-Con Art Auction Presented by IDW Publishing and the San Diego Comic Art Gallery
Saturday, 7/11/15, 7:30p.m., Bayfront Hilton – Sapphire SD
Bid on original art by some of comics’ greatest creators, including Jim Lee, Charlie Adlard, Kelley Jones, J. Scott Campbell, Jeff Smith, Stuart Immonen, Tula Lotay, Dan Brereton, Sam Kieth, Ming Doyle, Bill Sienkiewicz, Paul Pope, Matt Kindt, Gilbert Hernandez, Jeffrey Brown, Greg Ruth, Fabio Moon, John Livesay, Gabriel Ba, Tyler Crook, and dozens more! Plus, IDW is opening their vaults to provide rare, signed, or out of print items including Artist Editions and IDW Limited editions that feature Stan Lee, Kevin Eastman, Herb Trimpe, Roy Thomas, John Romita, Gerry Conway and more! All proceeds from this auction benefit the First Amendment legal work of the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund. This auction is open to all – YOU DO NOT NEED A COMIC CON BADGE TO ATTEND!
Please RSVP for your bidder number at http://cbldf-auction-2015.eventbrite.com/
Sunday July 12th
IDW: KIDS Comics!
Sunday, 7/12/15, 10:00a.m. – 11:00a.m., Room: 4
IDW loves comics as much as kids do, so come find out what’s new for 2015! My Little Pony, Disney, Angry Birds, TMNT, Transformers, Skylanders, and more! Want to learn how to make your own comics? Come prepared with questions for the panel, including CCO/Editor-in-Chief Chris Ryall (and daughter Lucy), editors Sarah Gaydos and Bobby Curnow, marketing marvel Rosalind Morehead, and writer/artist Derek Charm. Free comics for the kids!
By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 6/3/2015
The Humble Bundle model of “bundling” digital comics for a pay what you want price (while offering a percentage to charity) has had a pretty big impact on both comics readers and publishers over the past year, generating over $4 million in sales for ebook last year. You can see why publishers would be hep to a cut of that. Anyway, there’s a new Humble IDW / Top Shelf Comics Bundle that just went up — the charity beneficiary is Traveling Stories, a nonprofit organization dedicated to “outsmarting poverty one book at a time.”
For graphic noel loevrs, this is a bonanza, with the best of IDW’s non licensed titles added to Top Shelf’s stellar slate. So you get Alan Moore and Kevin O’Neill’s Nemo, March, Darwyn Cooke’s Parker, and books by Jeff Lemire, Joe Hill & Gabriel Rodriguez, Jess Fink, Mark Russell & Shannon Wheeler and Liz Prince. It’s a good deal for some great books.
The Bundle has been up for a week and already netted $125,102.90 on 8,736 purchases.
By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 5/27/2015
Hunter S. Thompson’s birth of the gonzo memoir fear and Loathing in Las Vegas is getting a comics adaptation from Xeric-winning, Eisner nominated artist Troy Little (Chiarascuro). Created in cooperation with the Thompson estate, the book is due this October from Top Shelf. Notably, it’s also the first book to be an “IDW/Top Shelf” production as Little has a prior relationship with IDW 9(they also published his Angora Napkin. “I’m so pleased that one of the first collaborative projects to come out of the Top Shelf / IDW relationship will be Troy Little’s inspired take on a true classic of American literature,” said Top Shelf Editor-In-Chief Chris Staros. “One of the most unforgettable writers turned loose in one of my favorite cities! We can’t wait to show you what Troy’s done with it.”
Thompson’s classic tale follows journo Raoul Duke and attorney Dr. Gonzo on a drug-fueled, prototypical American road trip through the desert backwaters of Vegas.
IDW acquired Top Shelf as an imprint last January, and as most expected the changes to how the long running indie operate have been minimal up until now. This is a promising project, so it’s all good thus far.
By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 5/2/2015
It’s Free Comic Book Day worldwide, and even if you can’t get to a shop, here’s one free comic you can read right now, Top Cow’s Free Comic Book Day book Tales of Honor: Bred to Kill #1 by Matt Hawkins and Linda Sejic. This issue is a zero issue for a new arc in the series, inspired by David Weber’s novels of the same name and done with his blessing.
The first issue of this second arc ships in June.
Hawkins is signing twice today:
10-2
FLYING COLORS
Oak Grove Plaza Shopping Center
2980 Treat Blvd
Concord, CA 94518
http://www.flyingcolorscomics.com/
4-6
TREASURE ISLAND COMICS
5018 Mowry Ave.
Fremont, CA 94538
http://treasureislandcomics.com/
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By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 4/6/2015
More editorial moves around comics, as Bethany Bryan has joined Papercutz as Associate Editor.
An industry veteran, Bryan comes from a background in children’s books, starting her career at Scholastic, working on books for babies and toddlers, and then moving over to library nonfiction publishing for a teen market. A writer, she’s frequently published online, and co-edits Gamervescent, a gaming blog geared toward women. Most recently, she helped promote diversity in children’s book publishing as the social media manager for the Ezra Jack Keats Foundation.
At Papercutz, Bryan will work on a range of titles including the recently announced NICKELODEON magazine and the BREADWINNERS and SANJAY & CRAIG series of graphic novels.
• And Molly Mahan, formerly at Dynamite, has joined DC’s west cost office as assistant editor to Jamie S. Rich at the Vertigo imprint.
So very happy to be assistant editor to @jamieESrich !
— Molly Mahan (@Mollitude) March 27, 2015
Thank you everyone for the continued congratulations & support! Very happy to be back in CA & excited to be @vertigo_comics
— Molly Mahan (@Mollitude) April 4, 2015
Vertigo’s new editorial team consist thus far of topliner Shelly Bond, Senior Editor Rich, former Marvel editor Ellie Pyle, and Rowena Yow. DC’s rebuilt editorial staff includes some smart young whippersnappers alright.
By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 3/13/2015
Let’s end up this week in comics with an inspiring event: Rep. John Lewis’s full half appearance on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart on Monday. The occasion was the 50th anniversary of the march over the Edmund Pettus Bridge, and that by itself is inspiring enough. There was much discussion of the two March graphic novels as well, though. Just think how a graphic novel is being discussed as an influential part of inspiring today’s youth with the history of the civil rights movement…a movement that very much needs to be revived in light of today’s racial inequities…well, comics should be proud.
You can watch the entire segment here.
This is the first time that the Daily Show has ever featured a graphic novel. And it could be the last…
There’s also a tumblr post up with some stills and gifs…and 44,000 notes.
By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 2/10/2015
WHO will be the Netflix/Spotify of comics? Several companies have been trying to offer all you can eat comcis buffets, but a lack of top content has been holding them back. But Scribd just made a major play announcing a $8.99 a month plan that allows you access to 10,000 comics, including top titles from Marvel, IDW/Top Shelf, Archie, Dynamite and Valiant. Scribd has been around for a while as en embeddable pdf reader, and already offers over a million ebooks and audiobooks on a subscription basis, so this makes a lot of sense.
Titles in the 10,000 book library include Spider-Man, My Little Pony, X-O Manowar, Lcoke & Key and graphic novels by Alan Moore, Matt Fraction, Gail Simone, George R.R. Martin and more—so a lot of good content but not everything available on Marvel Unlimited, for instance.
“We are very excited to take this step in expanding our subscription service beyond books,” said Trip Adler, co-founder and CEO of Scribd in a statement. “This addition gives comics readers the freedom of unlimited reading, while also giving our ebook and audiobook lovers the opportunity to discover comics and graphic novels.”
“IDW and Top Shelf have been considering subscription models for comics for some time,” said Jeff Webber, IDW’s Vice President of Digital Publishing & Business Development in his own statement. “Scribd came to us with the perfect opportunity to offer the entire catalog to fans and new readers. Time for some binge-reading!”
“For decades, a driving force at Marvel has been the desire to put comics in the hands of new readers,” sschimed in Daniele Campbell, Marvel’s VP CRM. “Our partnership with Scribd allows some of Marvel’s greatest stories to sit alongside Scribd’s already vast and eclectic catalogue of content in an effort to reach readers who might not have access to a comic shop.”
Ever unafraid to take a digital plunge, IDW is offering a two month free trial running until 2/17, where as regular Scribd offers a one month trial.
I’ve never been a fan of how Scribd embeds work in blog posts, but I never tried their sub service, which is optimized for tablets, so I’m sure it will be a better reading experience.
$8.99 — the cost of a mere two or three comics a month— is a pretty reasonable deal—well this be the next killer app? What do you all think? Will you sign up?
Some more deets on the content:
● Classic Comics – Classic runs of the Avengers, the X-Men, Daredevil, Archie, Judge Dredd, the Rocketeer and more
● Top Characters – Spider-Man, the Avengers, Betty and Veronica, Kevin Keller, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, My Little Pony, G.I. Joe, Bloodshot, Adventure Time
● Major Creators – Alan Moore, Frank Miller, Fiona Staples, Darwyn Cooke, Mark Waid, Ed Brubaker, Renee French, Jeffrey Brown, Joe Hill, and many more
● Acclaimed Graphic Novels – March, From Hell, Swallow Me Whole, Underwater Welder, Spiral-Bound, The Ticking, Too Cool to Be Forgotten
● Award Winners – League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, 30 Days of Night, Locke & Key, Alec, Will You Still Love Me if I Wet the Bed?
● Hit YA Titles – Ultimate Spider-Man, Runaways, Afterlife With Archie, Harbinger, Lumberjanes
● Manga – Partnership with MediaDo brings titles from Cork and Harlequin Manga, including work by acclaimed artist Moyoco Anno
● Leading Publishers – Marvel, Arcana, Archie, Boom! Studios, Dynamite, IDW/Top Shelf, Kingstone, Space Goat, Top Cow, Valiant, Zenescope
By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 2/6/2015
YUP. #AFORCE. #SECRETWARS @gwillowwilson. Jorge Molina. Me. pic.twitter.com/2gMiW851RW
— Marguerite Bennett (@EvilMarguerite) February 6, 2015
I guess the View ladies boofed this but the news is out– and PSYCHE IT WASN’T STAR WARS! Marvel is gathering its heroines for A-Force, an all female Avengers, with the creative team of Marguerite Bennett, G. Willow Wilson and Jorge Molina.
A raft of PR went out at 11:30 after the View was supposed to announce this, but they didn’t because…. Martha Stewart came on and talked about fringe, and Kim Catrall talked about life after the city of sex or something. YOU CANNOT CONTROL THE LADIES OF THE VIEW, people.
HuffPo supplies more of what we need to know:
Marvel Comics has gathered an all-female team of Avengers, who will begin saving the world this May. Fan favorite characters like She-Hulk, Dazzler, Medusa and Nico Minoru star in “A-Force,” a new monthly series that will follow these women as they fight evil. It’s written by G. Willow Wilson and Marguerite K. Bennett, with artwork from Jorge Molina.“We’ve purposefully assembled a team composed of very different characters — from disparate parts of the Marvel U, with very different power sets, identities and ideologies,” Wilson said in a statement. “They’ll all have to come together to answer some big questions: what would you sacrifice to succeed? What is being a hero worth?” The A-Force will also introduce, Singularity, a cosmically charged brand new super hero to the universe.
“Our heroines embody the ideals of what we can each strive to be,” Bennett said in the same statement. “A-Force” is Marvel’s 15th female-led comic series and represents a dramatic shift in comic culture. Last September, Marvel made waves when it announced that the new Thor would be a woman.“Marvel has always celebrated the diversity of its family of characters and creators,” series editor Daniel Ketch said. “This new series will unite Marvel’s mightiest heroines with the exceptionally creative minds of writers G. Willow Wilson and Marguerite Bennett to craft a story full of epic battles, personal triumphs, and heart-stopping peril … and an all-new character who will push the boundaries of diversity in comic books even further.”
Oh and here’s a variant cover by Stephanie Hans.
By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 1/22/2015
[Editor’s note: The release this week of March Book Two by Rep. John Lewis, Andrew Aydin and Nate Powell has already made headlines with its story of the fight for civil rights in the 60s, and the covers to both volumes have become iconic in their own right. The message of the courage to fight for equality for all in the face of violent opposition is as relevant and needed today as it was 50 years ago. But powerful images to cover powerful times don’t always spring up fully formed. Here Powell and Top Shelf designer Chris Ross with an in-depth breakdown of how they created these covers and combined imagery to capture both history and ideals.]
NATE: March was originally a single, massive volume, so the initial front and back covers were intended to house the entire narrative: the front introduced the basic visual theme of opposition, with two elements facing off against each other, though a contingent of riot-ready white supremacist police were prominently featured across the bottom. After some discussion with Chris Ross, Andrew Aydin, and Congressman Lewis, we all agreed that we should shift some of that focus to the folks on the front lines, and away from Jim Crow police forces. Around that time, we decided to release the saga as a trilogy, so Chris and I jumped in to further develop the oppositional themes, but playing with different angles and approaches to the cover’s division.
NATE: The marching feet motif, like the book’s title, are rooted in one of Congressman Lewis’ favorite Martin Luther King quotes, “There is no sound more powerful than the marching feet of a determined people.” We experimented with a lot of other design elements, but in the end kept coming back to that unshakable image.
CHRIS: I think we also had to be very conscious of being white males metaphorically designing the “skin” of a graphic novel about the civil rights movement. For example, there’s a common trope in graphic design, especially featuring marginalized people, of representing characters as body parts, “cut off” by the edges and removed from any context. Women are reduced to legs, breasts, or butts. Black men are reduced to chests and backs. Lots of folks believe that that’s not coincidental, and doing that carries a unique meaning when we represent the race and the body. So in the context of marching feet, it’s important to add depth and see whole bodies in the background, while also showing faces where we can, conveying an accurate and diverse range of these folks’ unique experiences and emotional states. It gives context to the movement and The Movement.
NATE: Once we settled on the lunch counter setting and I’d rendered it, a few more essential steps unfolded; importantly, there were a few re-draws of young John Lewis’ face to more perfectly capture his likeness, but several compositional changes occurred (eliminating the crowd of white heckers in the background, making the “Counter Closed” sign more legible, and adding condiment bottles to the counter, which really tied the whole room together, as The Dude might put it).
CHRIS: The type treatment began as Nate’s hand-rendered type, but the book “read” as a Nate Powell Book (alongside the fantastic Any Empire and Swallow Me Whole). This isn’t a problem because a Nate Powell Book is important and beautiful (as is Nate Powell), but March is in a different category and should have its own identity. So, we made a type treatment that was drawn from the interstate highway system, alongside some key fonts that I completely ripped off serve as homage to Eric Skillman [designer of Alec: The Years Have Pants and the Criterion Collection], whose spirit I tried to summon. Skillman is such a talented designer. So then I played with the type until it looked like the logotype March has always existed.
NATE: Chris had an incredible vision of the books as objects, as documents of that era whose contents had also survived the struggle. He brilliantly envisioned Book One as a second-hand textbook one might find in a segregated rural African-American school, like the one young John Lewis attended; the volume would bear the marks of excessive taping and binding, spine and corner wear… and the signed-and-numbered hardcover itself would include mid-century library card inserts and stamps.
CHRIS: Thanks Tualatin Elementary School librarians! But that is sort of an emerging trope—books as objects from other time periods and existing as living objects. I think it works when the designer and artist and author consider that the cover is not only going to communicate something to the reader, but that it will live a life exclusively with the reader. That’s a nice way of saying patina works in interesting ways and meanings on a cover, but it really does detract, in my opinion, when it’s an interior design choice. It makes me wonder how these books with interior patinas will affect readability in ten–twenty years. I’m guilty of thinking and designing like that myself. I think it seems like an easy tool in the toolchest, and I have to remember these books will last (and should be built to last) a long time. They live, as any teacher or librarian will tell you.
NATE: Likewise, Book Two’s cover is a survivor of that fateful bus burning along the Freedom Ride in Alabama, bearing the scorch marks and reconstructive tape necessary to keep it together as the Movement itself was threatened to be derailed.
CHRIS: The tape was originally the tape I was going to use on The Underwater Welder cover, but decided to go with a fabric texture with Welder and remembered the tape when we were noodling on March.
NATE: We knew almost immediately what I wanted to be represented on the cover of Book Two, so it came together with very minimal sketching, but also opened up a series of conversations among the creative team. Congressman Lewis wanted to make sure that, even as a young man amidst the center of the Freedom Ride, he wasn’t exploiting the power of that burning bus’s image for the cover. Rep. Lewis had actually left the Freedom Ride for a couple of days to interview for activist work abroad, and as he was about to rejoin the Riders he discovered his bus had been attacked.
CHRIS: It’s such a dramatic rendering.
NATE: It was a powerful moment for reflection: that these experiences and their suffering were, part of a collective journey for liberation, but that can never undermine the fact that they were specific, real acts of terrorism inflicting deep trauma, injury, and death. To young John Lewis’ friends, neighbors, heroes, and to himself. It was a call to be mindful of ownership over these experiences. At the same time, he (and we) measured his own mandate to “tell the whole story,” to “make it plain.” At our consensus, I drew an alternate top for the Book Two cover depicting demonstrators at the March On Washington moving across the National Mall. After careful consideration, Congressman Lewis concluded that the original cover spoke more powerfully to the whole truth of the Movement and its struggle.
CHRIS: That alternative cover is really interesting, and it plays against the angles that we had set up, the angles of action. If we were going that way, we’d have to reconsider the dutch angle and the directions of movement above and below the title.
NATE: Color and angles have played an important role in reflecting both the books’ individual contents and their placement in the narrative arc: Book One is largely the yellow of caution and instruction, urging slow, careful movements before the saga intensifies. Book Two is mostly the blue-and-grey of the previous century’s American Civil War, but carrying the gold/green/red palette of the first book forward as well. I will only briefly mention that the cover of Book Three may use the color scheme of the Alabama state flag, and the previously separated opposing elements have now been pushed into the same picture plane. The volumes begin with flat, ninety-degree compositions, but shift in design and camera placement as the Movement intensifies, echoing a literal escalation of angles across the covers.
CHRIS: I remember one of the color guides we were thinking about was really blue and yellow (the second from the left above), like Boy Scout blue and yellow, and it made the cover vibrate, but not really in a way that was communicating what we wanted to communicate. 
NATE: Just as we aimed for consistency and progression of theme on the front covers and total package, Chris Ross presented the idea of creating a triptych out of the saga’s back covers. One of us brought up the idea of Theodore Parker’s quote, adapted and immortalized by Dr. King, that the “arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice”, and we didn’t have to look long to find a perfect physical arc in the Edmund Pettus Bridge itself.
CHRIS: I wanted that as an art piece—a consistent narrative arc through time and this project. Standalone. Thematically linked through history that these conflicts get played out over longer time periods than humans live, and that through hard work and sacrifice, it gets incrementally better…we hope.
NATE: As I remember, I drew the Book One back cover waaaaay back in late 2011, when March was a single volume. I could see it very clearly in my mind’s eye, and just did one quick watercolor sketch before turning in the finished piece. Once we decided to make it a trilogy the next summer, we started looking ahead in content to pull out physical arcs and arches that might apply to our concept. I knew that Book Two would end with the bombing of 16th Street Baptist in Birmingham and wanted the blown-out window to be on the back cover as an eternal echo of the book itself, but it wasn’t until I started gathering more reference, much closer to the book’s end, that I realized the arch already continued in the blown-out window’s design.
CHRIS: We also chose to crop the image on the back so that it displayed four missing panels—representing the four girls killed in the bombing. Then those missing panels become rays of sunshine.
CHRIS: We find these coincidental things in our “discovery” of a cover, and it’s like they’re always already there. It’s also why I like designing covers FAR in advance of their release: not just for marketing reasons, but so that the creators can live with it for a long time, to become intimate with the cover, to feel like that cover has always existed. In fact, the book cover for March: Book Two was finished a few days after we finished the cover for Book One. Right now, we’re narrowing down the cover for Book Three.
NATE: On that note, I remembered the Birmingham window from my initial reading of Walking with the Wind, its Christ’s face blown out by the explosion—but I had to check in with Andrew and the Congressman halfway through drawing Book Two, in which the face of Christ is also blown out by a brick at First Baptist in Montgomery in 1961. It was eerie and disturbing to confirm both of these events, and from a writing perspective, the kind of thing you just can’t make up. So there it was. There they both were.
CHRIS: I didn’t know that—and that both these representations become something a bit more profound, a bit more representative of the movement. Kindness in the face (literally) of violent oppression.
NATE: We have elements in place to continue the overarching composition for Book Three—that’s being worked on right now (it’s sitting next to me at the desk!), but nothing to show yet. Back to the drawing table… gotta get these color sketches for the next cover done pronto!
CHRIS: That’s really the fun, terrifying, crazy, beautiful part: finding the engine of meaning and narrative in this story and doing some very Deep Thinking about what this engine looks like, how the elements that aesthetically speak to you play with Rep. Lewis’, Andrew’s, and Nate’s story. And represent them in meaningful ways. And hope that they always appear to have always existed.
March: Book One and March: Book Two are in stores now from Top Shelf Productions, an imprint of IDW Publishing.
By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 1/19/2015
When IDW acquired Top Shelf a few weeks ago, there was much talk about creators like Alan Moore staying around, but Top Shelf’s Chris Staros made it clear that he had discussed the move in advance with his top creators.
One much liked book that Top Shelf published for about a decade is Andy Runton’s Owly series, a steady seller that helped establish kids content in the indy world long before it was fashionable. However, as noted by Johanna Draper Carlson, Runton tweeted that he would be self-publishing Owly going forward.
I reached out to Runton for more information and he explained that this had aboslutely nothing to do with the IDW deal. His contract with Top Shelf actually ran out last year, and he had made plans to self publisher starting then. “I’ve been thinking about self publishing for a long time and have gotten some great advice from Terry and Robyn Moore,” he told The Beat. However, a series of personal setbacks put this on hold for all of 2014, and he has no firm publishing lans yet. Hopefully, we’ll see Owly coming back in 2015, and Runton back on top form.
By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 1/16/2015
Brought to you by Publishers Weekly, it’s More To Come, the weekly podcast of comics news, interviews and discussion with Calvin Reid, Kate Fitzsimons and The Beat’s own Heidi MacDonald.
In this week’s podcast, the More to Come crew discuss Charlie Hebdo, the attack on its offices and its cultural context as well as comics publisher IDW purchasing Top Shelf, Reed Pop buying Emerald City Comic Con and much more on PW Comics World’s More To Come.
Download this episode direct here, listen to it in streaming here and catch up with our previous podcasts on the Publishers Weekly website, or subscribe to More To Come on iTunes
By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 1/15/2015
By Bruce Lidl
Lost somewhat in the initial burst of news from last week’s ImageExpo was the announcement of a new Image Humble Bundle offering, beginning that morning and lasting until January 21. The “Humble Image Comics Bundle 2: Image Firsts” is a massive collection of digital comics that can be purchased for whatever price the consumer chooses. Included in the basic bundle are the beginning issues of a number of recent series, including Alex + Ada, Deadly Class, C.O.W.L., Elephantmen 2260 Book One, Minimum Wage, God Hates Astronauts, Genius, and Satellite Sam. Paying at least $15 also gets you the slightly higher profile titles The Manhattan Projects, The Wicked + The Divine, The Fuse, Velvet, Sex Criminals, Wytches, The Walking Dead Vol. 22: A New Beginning (#127-132), The Fade Out #1, Nailbiter, Stray Bullets, Southern Bastards, and Shutter. And finally, a stretch price of $18 brings The Walking Dead Compendium One (#1-48), East of West: The World, and Saga Book One (#1-18). For anybody at all interested in Image brand comics, the price truly cannot be beat, especially as the retail price of the comics would be over $300 according to Humble Bundle. Also, purchasers are strongly encouraged to mark a portion of their price paid towards charity, in this case the comics creator focused Hero Initiative. As of this evening, the Image bundle has generated almost $318,000, with over five days left to go.
The current offering is the third Humble Bundle to include Image titles. The first time Humble Bundle included any digital comics was the Image bundle in April 2014 that generated almost $400,000 revenue in two weeks, with titles including Saga, Walking Dead, Fatale, Invincible and Chew. Image imprint Skybound also did a special Comic-Con Humble Bundle in July 2014 as well, which was almost entirely Kirkman based titles such as The Walking Dead, Invincible, Thief of Thieves, and Super Dinosaur. That bundle alone generated $232,000.
Other comic publishers that have released Humble Bundles since April include Dark Horse, Oni, Dynamite, BOOM!, IDW, Top Shelf and Valiant. According to Kelley Allen, Director of Books for Humble Bundle, comics publishers are eager to work with them, and she has a number of ebook and comics bundles planned in 2015 alongside Humble Bundle’s traditional gaming focused offerings. The average revenue number for the comics based bundles so far has been $288,000 for the 14 day period. According to Allen, non-gaming bundles allow Humble to “break out from their core gaming audience” but from the comics perspective, they can also create “enormous crossover” by getting great comics in front of the very large Humble Bundle community. With a very clearly defined, and devoted, young male demographic, Humble Bundle chooses comics with both a logical appeal, like Transformers, Star Wars and The Walking Dead, but Allen also curates high quality titles that may stretch demographic borders. She “pushed very hard” to include titles like Sex Criminals in the latest Image bundle, trusting the Humble Bundle audience to appreciate an outstanding title, even without prior awareness.
While the Humble Bundles may help expand the reach of digital comics, they are also helping to encourage comics publishers to feel comfortable with forgoing DRM protections for their products. Humble Bundles, regardless of content, gaming or ebooks, do not use Digital Rights Management anti-copying technologies, both for philosophical reasons and from a practical standpoint. As Allen pointed out, why use DRM when the consumer could theoretically decide to purchase the content for one cent in any case? Even Dark Horse, which has been very reluctant to forgo DRM generally, was convinced to try not using it for their big Star Wars themed Humble Bundle in October and was rewarded with sales over $375,000 for the two week offering.
Fundamentally, the Humble Bundle “pay what you want” approach reflects exactly the insights independent game developers have learned over the years in regards to digital sales. Since their products are almost universally available to be pirated, often in formats that are actually *more* user friendly than the official versions, game creators have learned to embrace the concept of giving customers compelling reasons to purchase, in the recognition that they do not have to anymore. Distribution options like Steam and Humble Bundle provide explicit value beyond what a pirated version can give, whether through ease of use, personal connection to the creators, community recognition, charitable giving, etc. The Humble Bundle experiment really leverages the unique potential of digital distribution, as the pay what you want model could not really scale in a system that necessitated fulfillment and postage charges. With this almost “donation” type model there is no extra expense for the seller after the first sale, everything after that is essentially “profit.” And the possibility that the new readers exposed to the material may become fans, and go on to make further purchases, even print purchases in local comic books stores, only heightens the value of the Humble Bundle offering. We are likely to see a number of interesting comics based bundles in 2015 and we will learn if this kind of non-traditional sales can become a significant portion of publishers’ revenue, in much the same way digital has already established itself recently.
By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 1/14/2015
Alan Moore and Kevin O’Neill’s Nemo trilogy wraps up in march with Nemo: River of Ghosts, recently acquired Top Shelf just announced. Like all of its Alan Moore publications, Knockabout will publish the book in the UK. The trilogy, which follows Captain Nemo’s daughter Janni, began in Heart of Ice, continued in The Roses of Berlin and wraps up here, with now aged Janni exploring the Amazon.
In a world where all the fictions ever written coalesce into a rich mosaic, it’s 1975. Janni Dakkar, pirate queen of Lincoln Island and head of the fabled Nemo family, is eighty years old and beginning to display a tenuous grasp on reality. Pursuing shadows from her past—or her imagination—she embarks on what may be a final voyage down the vastness of the Amazon, a last attempt to put to rest the blood-drenched spectres of old.
With allies and adversaries old and new, we accompany an ageing predator on her obsessive trek into the cultural landscape of a strange new continent, from the ruined city of Yu-Atlanchi to the fabulous plateau of Maple White Land. As the dark threads in her narrative are drawn into an inescapable web, Captain Nemo leads her hearse-black Nautilus in a desperate raid on horrors believed dead for decades.
This follow-up trilogy to the League of Extraordinary Gentleman saga has been quite entertaining in its own right. What else do Moore and O’Neill have up their sleeve I wonder?
By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 11/20/2014
Now what was that I was just saying about non Marvel and DC properties getting a second look—or in the case of From Hell, a third look. The masterpiece by Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell that followed the saga of Jack the Ripper in fascinating detail was already made into a movie starring Johnny Depp. But now it’s back in development as a TV show:
Now here’s where it gets interesting. Don Murphy, who producer not only the From Hell film but the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen film, is producing, with Children of Men’s David Arata (Children Of Men) writing a script. And then:
When the current resurgence of event series started, Murphy thought that would be a great way to handle the material properly, giving the story time to play out and doing it justice. He reached out to Fox Group chairman Peter Rice who was an executive on the movie. Rice loved the idea and the project was set up at Fox TV Studios whose then-topper David Madden had worked with Murphy in the past. Arata was brought in as writer and the drama was sold to FX, with FX Prods. coming on board to co-produce with FtvS. Murphy is executive producing with Susan Montford, via their company Angry Films, along with Arata.
All of which is to say that expect Moore not to have anything to say about this and to get exceedingly cranky when asked.
BUT, you may recall that League of Extraordinary Gentleman was announced last year as a “put pilot”—meaning it would have to be made and shown or Fox would have to pay a sizable fee—and where is that? Not another peep heard.
All of that said, in case you need to be reminded, From Hell
By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 9/30/2014
I was asked to give a quote
about this cover and to tell fans about the first time I saw Star
Wars or how it completely changed my life, but it’s a story I’m
sure isn’t all that interesting when compared to the countless
others that have been told, much more eloquently, by so many before
me,” said Quesada. “While each of us has had our unique moments of
discovery and love affair with the property there’s nothing that I
think I could say or add that hasn’t been said before and
truthfully it really isn’t all that important because It’s that
love for Star Wars that binds all of us who share those unique
moments like the Force itself. That’s why when I was offered the
opportunity to do this cover I was both thrilled beyond belief and
as nervous as I was when I did my very first professional work over
twenty years ago. To have the opportunity to illustrate the classic
cast members in one piece has been by far one of the highlights of
my career as an artist. I can only hope that it turned out okay and
that maybe, just maybe, I get the chance to do it again
someday.
I like it, but no
Jaxxon?
By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 9/9/2014
Top Shelf has an annual sale whereby you can acquire some of the greatest comics of alllll tiiiiimes for just $3. The list of sale items is right here. Some 125 titles are marked down, some to just $1! And perennials like League of Extraordinary Gentleman volumes are marked down. It’s time to jump in if you haven’t!
In addition for the first time, Top Shelf is doing digital add-ons—for a buck or two more you can get a digital copy of the books. And Top Shelf takes Paypal as well as major credit cards.
This sale is an incredibly important part of Top Shelf’s fiscal year as proceeds from the sale are used to “kickstart” next year’s books. So dig in — the sale runs until September 26th.. and here are some sample titles:
Slashed prices on brand-new releases and beloved perennials!
– Slashed Prices: League
Century HC, Nemo: Roses of Berlin / Heart of Ice, and more!
– Slashed Prices: March, MLK & the Montgomery Story, A Matter of Life, and more!
– Slashed Prices: Pinocchio Vampire Slayer, Alone Forever, We Can Fix It, and more!
– Slashed Prices: Blankets, From Hell, Lost Girls, God is Disappointed in You, and more!
– Slashed Prices: Essex County, Infinite Kung Fu, Swallow Me Whole, Super Spy, and more!
– Slashed Prices: Lost Dogs, Crater XV, Heck, Alec, Night Animals, and more!
– Slashed Prices: Maddy Kettle, Monster on the Hill, Korgi, Johnny Boo, and more!Acclaimed graphic novels from world-class talents for $3!
– $3 Titles: The Underwater Welder, League Century 1910/1969/2009, and more!
– $3 Titles: Will You Still Love Me?, The Ticking, Gingerbread Girl, and more!
– $3 Titles: Ax, Voice of the Fire, Unearthing, Hey Mister, The Surrogates, and more!
– $3 Titles: Liar’s Kiss, Lucille, The Lovely
Horrible Stuff, Undeleted Scenes, and more!
– $3 Titles: BB Wolf & The 3 LP’s, Three Fingers, The Troll King, and more!
– $3 Titles: Owly, Upside Down, Pirate Penguin, Incredible Change-Bots, and more!Discover a new favorite with these great $1 books!
– $1 Titles: From Hell Companion, Stuff about Sex, Pistolwhip, Mephisto, and more!
– $1 Titles: Tales of Woodsman Pete, The Playwright, Sulk (Vols 1/2/3), and more!
– $1 Titles: Van Helsing’s Night Off, Lone Racer, Regards from Serbia, and more!
– $1 Titles: SuperF*ckers #1-#4, The Surrogates #1-#5, Dang!, and more!
– $1 Titles: Comic Book Artist, Hutch Owen, Okie Dokie Donuts, Yam, and more!
– $1 Titles: The Octopi & the Ocean, Tales of the Great Unspoken, and more!
– $1 Titles: Black Ghost Apple Factory, The Man Who Loved Breasts, and more!
By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 9/3/2014
Photo courtesy of Laurenn McKubbin
For those unaware, I’m a part of the Dragon Con Comics & Pop Arts Programming Staff. Our job to pull together panels of interest to the attendees on a variety of topics be it fan-based, academic, guest-spotlighting, or a blend of the three.
One of the most exciting moments, personally, of Dragon Con 2014 was getting an opportunity to introduce Captain Marvel/Pretty Deadly writer, and one of the leading voices of feminism in Comics, Kelly Sue DeConnick to Civil Rights Pioneer, Congressman John Lewis.
While The Beat covered his amazing and emotional panel that was held this past Sunday in Atlanta, this occurrence that took place afterwards held its own bit of noteworthiness.
DeConnick had the following to say about Lewis, after attending his panel, on her Tumblr blog:
He’s a gentle man, soft spoken, extraordinarily gracious and inspiring. He represents, I think, the best of us. What I want it to mean when i say, “I am an American” is everything that man stands for. John Lewis is a true American hero.
We ALL need to know his story — because it is OUR story. ALL OF US, regardless of skin tone. Go buy (March: Book One) for your family, then one for your school’s library too. Read it, teach it, look at what is going on around us today.
And of course, there was no way the Congressman was getting out of the room without the above “duck-face” selfie.
Add this event on top of the utterly packed attendance for her Carol Corps meetup that was also held that weekend, and a number of dynamic panels ranging from Creator Owned Comics to a number of Gender, Race, and Sexuality in Comics Round-tables, it was a great weekend for fans of the Marvel and Image creator. Needless to say, Dragon Con was elevated significantly by her presence. I’m so very grateful I got to be a part of it.
By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 9/3/2014
A little more than 51 years ago, Rep. John Lewis was one of ten people to speak at the March on Washington, where Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. made his historic “I Have a Dream” speech. Of those ten, Lewis is the only one still alive today.
1 of 10.
Lewis’s life is filled with meaningful numbers: 74 – his age; 5 – his congressional district; 37 – the number of days he spent in jail for using a “white-only” restroom; 45 – the number of times he’s been arrested.
Lewis and Legislative Aide Andrew Aydin appeared on a panel at Dragon Con in Lewis’s home district of Atlanta for their co-authored graphic novel, March: Book One, where they dropped another meaningful number: 47 – the number of states failing to adequately teach the Civil Rights Movement.
At the intersection of historical and modern is March: Book One, a timeless message delivered in a progressive medium. Aydin, who has attended Dragon Con for years and has always loved comics, said he saw an opportunity to use a graphic novel to educate on the Civil Rights Movement when Persepolis, a graphic novel published in 2000 detailing the war between Iran and Iraq, began to appear on school curricula.
“There is an opening we have now, where graphic novels are being accepted as literature, and I think someone like Congressman Lewis embarking on this journey into the medium only bolsters that credibility,” Aydin said. “In fact, he’s the first member of Congress to write a graphic novel.”
Aydin said March was designed with an inexpensive price point so that it would be feasible for school budgets. The graphic novel has been selected as a common reading book – a book read by the incoming freshman class over the summer for interactive discussions in their first year – at Michigan State University, Marquette University and Georgia State University. MSU and the City of East Lansing also sponsor a “One Book, One Community Program” in which members of the community and the freshman class participate in the reading and discussion together.
Amid national outcry over recent events in Ferguson, the book’s messages are as timely now as ever. Lewis spoke at the panel about the day that would eventually be known as “Bloody Sunday,” when 600 nonviolent protesters marched in a demonstration for the right to vote.
“I was the first to be attacked,” he said. “I was hit in the head by a state trooper with a night stick. I had a concussion on the bridge. I thought I saw death. I thought I was going to die.”
Photo by Harper Harris
The brutality made it to the news, which caused a ripple effect of demonstrations in more than 82 cities across America. Only eight days later, President Lyndon B. Johnson would make a speech now known as the “We Shall Overcome” speech, which Lewis called “one of the most meaningful speeches that any American president had made in modern times on the oppression of civil rights and voting rights.”
Lewis said that the series of events sparked by the demonstration eventually led to change.
“I was sitting next to Dr. King in the home of a local family, as we watched and listened to President Johnson, and tears came down his face. He started crying, and we all cried,” he said. “Dr. King said: ‘We’ll make it from Selma to Montgomery, and the voting right will be passed.’ Congress debated it, passed it, and it was signed into law. Some people gave their lives, and the only thing I gave was a little blood.”
Aydin said March goes into great detail about the communication methods used to set up demonstrations, which are the most effective tool for creating change. Aydin said he thinks social networking tools like Twitter can be used to motivate and organize demonstrations, but shouldn’t take the place of them.
“An incident happens in one city, and having the infrastructure to have those protests follow up in a nationwide way is what helps put national pressure on the elected leaders,” he said. “You’ve got to show up. That’s the biggest battle. All these people, if they’re mad, if they’re angry, if there’s something they believe in, they need to be there. They need to make their voice heard through their own presence. You’ve got to use your bodies. Put your bodies on the line to make your voice heard.”
Lewis echoed that sentiment, adding that he thinks we’ve reached a time in our history where our voices are not being used enough.
“The day will come I think, in the not so distant future, when people will look back and say ‘Why were we so quiet?’” he said. “There comes a time when people should make a little noise and push.”
Aydin said he is hopeful that through the book and their discussions at schools, they will help encourage a new generation of activists.
“We’re going to these schools all across the country, as many as we can possibly go to, so that we find that one kid. That one young person who starts the ball rolling, who has that first moment of courage,” he said.
And just as progress was made for civil rights, Lewis said he believes it’s important that people continue to organize to battle other issues; particularly the fight for economic equality.
“The last effort of Martin Luther King, Jr. was something called The Poor People’s campaign,” he said. “He wanted to take people to Washington, representatives of people who’d been left out and left behind. They were white, black, Latino, Asian America, Native American – and he never made it there because of the assassination in Memphis. I think in a real sense we have to pick up where Dr. King left off… It doesn’t make sense that a few people can earn so much and then hundreds of thousands of people in our country don’t know where they’re going to get their next meal or where they’re going to sleep. It’s not fair, it’s not right, and it’s not just.”
By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 7/14/2014
March: Book One, the graphic novel memoir of civil rights hero Rep. John Lewis, as adapted by Andrew Aydin and Nate Powell, was a bestseller and gained publicity previously little heard of for a graphic novel, with appearances on the Colbert Report and Rachel Maddow among many other places. The first volume has been a best seller but also inspired readers with its story of Lewis’s youthful initiation into the civil rights movement. The book is currently in the freshman reading programs at three universities, and has been nominated for three Eisner Awards.
But there’s a lot more to the story. The cover for March: Book Two, which will be out in early 2015, has finally been revealed, on CNN of all places. And Top Shelf has announced Book Two will be an even longer book, as it builds towards the defining events of 1961-1963. Book Two covers:
the famous journey of the Freedom Riders, imprisonment at Mississippi’s Parchman Penitentiary, and young John Lewis’ involvement in helping to plan and lead the legendary 1963 March on Washington.
Nate Powell’s powerful cover showcases (on top) the Freedom Riders’ bus set on fire by a white supremacist mob in Anniston, AL, May 14, 1961, and (on bottom) Lewis’ fiery speech at the March on Washington, August 28, 1963
By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 6/25/2014
Thanks to the success of his TWO Star Wars series—”Goodnight Darth Vader” has been on the bestseller list for weeks, and his Jedi Academy is a hit series for Scholastic—Jeffrey Brown has become one of the most successful contemporary cartoonists. But before he hit with Star Wars, he was making kids and adults laugh with his Incredible Change-Bots series which parodies, with the same gentle, loving humor, a certain transforming car franchise. TWo small books have come out but here’s a …third, or so. It’s called Incredible Change-Bots Two Point Something Something is a big 224 pages of both previously published and rarely seen material, including short stories, gallery art show pieces, game and toy designs, artwork created for fan club members, interviews with almost every Change-Bot, and more.
And here’s a preview!
Alec is one of the best comics I have ever read.
That made the huge mess of Bacchus a surprise.