Archive for: February 2008
February 29, 2008
 I read a while back that today, February 29th, 2008 or Leap Year Day will set the record for the most single day blog posts in the history of Internet Blogging, just so owners will get to have the funny date stamp that we only get to have every four years. I’m no different. And for all of you old fogies, Happy Sadie Hawkins Day, Al Capp would be proud. On with today’s links:
- Frequent visitors to the CCL Blog know that I always add some sort of picture to go with every post that I do. Today, in honor of Leap Year Day, instead of going with a cover to a Quantum Leap comic that I see everyone doing (or a Lil’ Abner strip for that matter), I decided to go with Annie for her famous expression “Leaping Lizards“. It also serves as a reminder that we are all still patiently awaiting the The Complete Little Orphan Annie from IDW later in 2008. Starting with her debut in 1924 each volume will contain several complete story lines, approximately two years per book.
- Frequent listeners to the CCL Podcast will know that I rarely give out hints as to what feature is coming up on the next show. I’ll break that tradition today and tell you that I’ll be going over Jeff Smith’s DC Comics Deluxe Editions: Shazam: Monster Society Of Evil. I’ll also give my opinions on Smith’s new comic RASL. That’s right — a monthly comic book — look out!
- My friend, Brian, owner of Detroit Comics, will be having an Art’o'mat / St. Patrick’s Day party on Saturday, March 15th. It will be complete with food and beverages (BYOB), giveaways and prizes and a rockabilly DJ. Come on out to the party!
- A few weeks ago I blogged about the very cool Top 10 list of 2007. It’s now been completed. Very, Very Cool! Thank to The Beat.
- Papercutz is launching its line of full color Bionicle graphic novels, which collect comics sent to the Bionicle fan club, in May. My son, Patrick loves Bionicle! This will just help fuel his passion. The 112-page Bionicle Graphic Novel #1: Rise of the Toa Nuva will be available in both paperback ($7.95) and hardcover ($12.95) editions.
- Indiana Jones Junior Novelizations On the Way. Yes, I too was confused by the title of this article. It should be written, Indiana Jones - Junior Novelizations On the Way, not Indiana Jones Jr. - Novelizations On the Way. Please tip your waitress be before you leave.
- Charlie over at ComicList has posted the more recent Cancellations for March 2008. I don’t take much stock in this list as I used to. Lateness and Cancelled are legitimate, but what constitutes Out of Stock or Sold Out? Many of the books listed under Marvel are readily available at any number of LCS’s. I hope that this will get explained to me someday.
- Review: Tom Spurgeon, The Comics Reporter, on Star Trek: The Key Collection, Vol. 2. No slight against IDW, but I like these old comics more so than the newer, Star Trek: Year Four. Not sure what it is, I just like ‘em better.
- Review: Chris Randle, eyeweekly.com, on Popeye Volume Two: Well Blow Me Down! (Fantagraphics)
February 27, 2008
 Collected Comics Library Podcast #161
33,304Kb; 35m 15s
It’s my Three Year Anniversary show! My sincere thanks to everyone who supports the CCL Podcast and the Blog!.
First up, I have an announcement - I am the new host of the newly revamped TwoMorrows Publishing Tune-In Podcast. It will debut this Saturday, March 1st. You can go ahead and subscribe to the show now to make sure that you will be getting the latest podcast this weekend. I’ll be posting on the CCL Blog and the TwoMorrows Blog when everything goes live. Links are below.
For the Third Anniversary show, I didn’t want any fanfare, so I just treat it as a normal episode. Lots news this week from Wonder Con and we also go over some shipping changes and I go searching on eBay for some rare books. Damian , from the Kryptographik podcast, drops by with his thoughts on the Grendel Archives, which I went over last week. For this week’s feature, I cover Queen and Country 01: The Definitive Edition from Oni Press. A great book, both story and presentation wise. Lastly, as always, I go over the New Releases of the Week.
Chris
Links of Note:
TwoMorrows Publishing Tune-In Podcast
Rosh Sillars, Prosperous Artists, New Media Secrets: Marketing Your Message (video)
Comic Geek Hoop Madness - Official Forum Thread and Sign-up Information
Kryptographik
CCL on the Mayo Report: 2007 Year in Review
Discuss this topic on the CCL forum
Question of the Month - March
 CCL Podcast #161 - Three Year Anniversary and Queen and Country [35:15m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
February 26, 2008
 Today, I have a billion things to get done and just not enough time to do it. Besides, shoveling 6 inches of snow sometime today I have to record and edit Wednesday’s podcast, get the kids to piano and ballet, attend tonight’s Detroit Podcasters Meet-up and write this blog post which long overdue. I better get started. On with today’s links:
February 24, 2008
 Here is a rundown of Collected Edition news from Wonder-Con this past weekend. If you know of anymore, please e-mail them to me.
DC Comics
- Absolute Ronin and Absolute Justice
- Ambush Bug, is being considered as some sort of collected edition
- No plans to bring out trades of the earlier issues of Birds of Prey
Vertigo
- James Jean’s covers to Fables will be collected in a coffee table book next year
Wildstorm
- Absolute Planetary and Absolute Authority may get reprinted
Dark Horse
- Creep Magazine Archives Creepy magazine will collect the entire 20 year run in either 13 or 14 volumes and should be released by Comic-Con International. None of the original artwork will be altered. The first volume will come out in July, and three volumes a year are planned, with Eerie due to start next year.
- Bernie Wrightso’s Frankenstein (1983). The Dark Horse 25th anniversary edition of the illustrated novel will be in hardcover
- The K Chronicles in an omnibus collection of the first four collections by Keith Knight. The collection will be 8 ½ x 11 and over 500 pages long. The collection will feature an introduction by Kyle Baker.
- Re-publishing the first volume of The Perry Bible Fellowship with new material in a new reprint edition. Other Dark Horse webcomics will be both Achewood and Wonder Mart later this year in a similar format to Perry Bible Fellowship.
- The second collection of Emily the Strange will be coming in the fall
Aspen
- Fathom Vol 2 in June, and the Definitive Edition is still in the works.
Iron and the Maiden trade is coming soon
February 22, 2008
As promised I join John Mayo and Bob Bretall on their show, Comic Book Page podcast to discuss the sales estimates for the top 300 comics and top 100 graphic novels and collected editions of 2007 and some of the sales highlights of the year.
Email John and Bob at MayoReport@ComicBookPage.com with any questions or comment you have on the episode or post on our forum.
Join the discussion on our forum at: http://fourms.comicbookpage.com
This podcast episode originated on the Comic Book Page website: http://www.ComicBookPage.com
CCL on the Mayo Report: 2007 Year in Review: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
February 21, 2008
 When you live in Michigan you rarely see the clear sky in the winter time. Fortunately, last night the weather gods were all drunk and happy and let the good folks who live in this freezing cold and unemployed state see the magnificent Lunar Eclipse unscathed. The moon started to fade out at 8:30 est and by 10:40 it had the brilliant reddish hue that we were all hoping for. Not only that but you could see Saturn and the star Regulus as clear as day. Also going on at this time was the shooting down of a military spy satellite. Coincidence? Let the conspiracies begin! On with today’s links:
- ICv2.com has published the Top 100 Graphic Novels Actual–January 2008. I’m not sure when John Mayo and I are set to record next. I’ll keep you posted. As for the Top Books, it’s always good to see diversity: Star Wars, Conan, X-Men and Pride of Baghdad.
- Related to the bullet point above, everyone is talking about Brian Hibbs and the Bookscan article. I’m sure John and I will discuss this, too.
- Marc Tyler Nobleman has started a blog. At it you can get a sneak peek of Boys of Steel the first picture book biography of Superman’s creators, Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster.
- Tom Spurgeon has a wonderful interview with Douglas Wolk (Reading Comics). For those of you who don’t know, Wolk contributes to The Savage Critics Blog, one of my must reads everyday.
- Get ready for possible new editions of Akira - it’s been optioned by Warner Bros. Leonardo DiCaprio is even attached to it. Also, we may just be getting that deluxe edition of The Boys after all. It’s been optioned, too.
- Review: Collected Editions Blog, on Birds of Prey: Blood and Circuits TPB and Justice League of America Hereby Elects TPB
- This Week’s Sign of the Apocalypse: Mr. T gets his own brand new OGN
February 20, 2008
 Collected Comics Library Podcast #160
27,347Kb; 28m 54s
As I wrote on Monday’s blog, I went to Chicago this past weekend and sat in with the guys from the Around Comics podcast. While I was there I picked up a few books. One shall remain nameless since I’ll be covering it for next week’s show and I don’t want to give anything away, the other two were Jeffery Brown’s Be A Man for only $3 and The Grendel Archives by Matt Wagner; which is what I feature for today’s show. Like I say in the podcast, there is so much to the history and mythology of the character(s) that I can’t do it justice. But I can go over, in detail, all the collected editions that have been published throughout the years and some upcoming books, too.
Also covered in the show is some podcasting news at this weekends Wonder-Con, shipping updates for upcoming books, TwoMorrows Publishing’s Press release on discounting their entire catalog and finally, The New Releases of the Week.
Chris
Links of Note:
Vivat Grendel - The Devil’s Homepage Grendel Fansite
Discuss this topic on the CCL forum
CCL Podcast #160 - Grendel Archives and More [28:54m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
February 18, 2008
 I’m back from my weekend in Chicago. I had a great time Friday night hanging out with the Chris, Sal and Tom from the Around Comics podcast. John Siuntres and artist Mike Norton were also there. We all recorded a show together and went out for a few drinks afterward. Unfortunately for me, I had to leave a little early. In case you’re wondering I did buy a few books and I read one of them, which will be my topic for this week’s podcast. I won’t give anything away, but I can tell you it’s been a long time coming. On with today’s links:
- Image Comics will collect Proof this May.
- Tom Spurgeon, The Comics Reporter, has some great links to stories regarding cartoonists, newspapers and bookstores.
- The Essential Marvel Saga needs your help! says John Seavey via Brian Cronin
- Ghost World Special Edition gets a brand new cover. Weighing in at nearly 300 pages, it includes the original classic graphic novel, the Academy Award-nominated screenplay, and almost 50 pages of supplementary material never before collected, including several new strips created for the book, a new introduction and annotations to the graphic novel by Dan Clowes, as well as a comprehensive retrospective of every piece of GW artwork and merchandise related to the book and film. It will be out this summer.
- Review: Roger K. Miller, Pittsburgh Post Gazette, on Bill Mauldin: A Life Up Front and Willie & Joe: The WWII Years
- Review: Allan Holtz, Stripper’s Guide, on Jack Cole’s last work Betsy and Me
February 14, 2008
 If any of you listened to my podcast for this week, you’ll know that a sore throat was coming on. We’ll it hit me full bore this morning. Coughing, redness and I even feel run down. This is not unusual for me. It seems for as long as I can remember I always get till – really ill - around my birthday (January 25). This year it just came three weeks late. The kids are off of school until Tuesday for mid-winter break. I’ll probably take it easy and spend the day away from the computer. In fact, I may be off all weekend. The whole family is going to Chicago for the weekend and with that I am suppose to be meeting up with Chris (Around Comics) and John (Wordballoon). I hope I’m up for it. On with today’s links:
- Dark Horse will be releasing the 2-issue series of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull this May. If you are like me, you can just go out and buy the Trade Paperback.
- ICv2.com reports that Titan Books will be releasing Icons: The DC Comics and Wildstorm Art of Jim Lee in September, 2008.
- Our own paper, The Detroit News, finally got around to covering the The American Comic Book: A Detroit Perspective (on February 9) which had its opening night January 26. A little late, don’t you?
- The other paper in town, The Detroit Free Press, picked up a story via USA Today, had a nice article about the popular online strip Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney.
- Here’s a press release from The New York Center for Independent Publishing on CBR. They are having a Symposium On Graphic Novels Saturday, March 15, 2008. Scott McCloud (Zot! and Making Comics) will be conducting a Q&A.
- mckenzee from ComixTalk reports that his Cthulhuvida, and an anthology from the North Carolina WebComic Coffee Clatch are both now in print.
- Matt Blind, Comic Snob (manga), has a very informative article on Borders Bookstores. In a related article, Borders opens up it’s New Concept store in Pittsfield Township, Michigan. (photo by Kathleen Galligan/Detroit Free Press)
- Review: Collected Editions on two trades: Birds of Prey: Perfect Pitch and Checkmate: Pawn Breaks. I have to say that the new white background through me for a loop. At first I thought my web browser was acting up . After refreshing the page - more then once - I figured they changed their scheme.
- Review: Tom Spurgeon, The Comics Reporter, on Three Shadows by Cyril Pedrosa (:01 First Second)
- Top Cow has launched a new website as a promotion tool for their new Witchblade trade paperbacks
- Review: Read About Comics, on the Dark Horse Heroes Omnibus Vol. 1. I think this blog just convinced me to pick it up - at a discount, of course.
February 13, 2008
 Collected Comics Library Podcast #159
27,394Kb; 28m 57s
Tuesday afternoon, I was able to sit down and record the latest episode. I’m glad I was able to then, because I feel a whole lot worse now. I have a sore throat and my head is spinning a bit. I’m going to take it easy after I upload everything, and sit down and watch Roger Clemens at the The House Oversight & Govt. Reform Committee hearing on the use of performance enhancing substances by major league baseball players. It may make my head spin even more. Either way it’s better then shoveling snow.
For the Feature today, I go over EC Archives:Two Fisted Tales Volumes 1 and 2. Like many of you, I was confused as to what kind of stories are told in the pages of this comic. Today I sort it all out for you. Also on the show today, I talk about some late books and some revised shipping dates and a bit on Steve Gerber (Howard the Duck). Lastly, have a nice e-mail from Glenn and I go over The New Releases of the Week.
Chris
Discuss this topic on the CCL forum
CCL Podcast #159 - EC Archives: Two-Fisted Tales Vols. 1 and 2 [28:57m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
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I read a while back that today, February 29th, 2008 or Leap Year Day will set the record for the most single day blog posts in the history of Internet Blogging, just so owners will get to have the funny date stamp that we only get to have every four years. I’m no different. And for all of you old fogies, Happy Sadie Hawkins Day, Al Capp would be proud. On with today’s links:
