It’s been just about 24 hours since the news of Marvel and Marvelman broke and I’m still not fully recovered. This is major news from many different angles and many, many, many questions are being raised in its wake. I’m sure the next few weeks everything will be answered and some new and exciting projects will be built upon this news. So for now, right now, we’ll all have to sit back and wait. But for me, it’s damn well worth it. Let’s see what Day 3 provided:

• Rich Johnston, Bleeding Cool, found out that Panini and Marvel UK will be reprinting The Knights of Pendragon: Once and Future Volume 1 (1990) by Dan Abnett, John Tomlinson, and Gary Erskine. If fact, it’s already listed on Amazon.com and Amazon.uk
• Fantagraphics Books reannounced (from 2007) that they would finally begin publishing The Complete Pogo, a 12-volume series collecting the complete chronological run of daily and Sunday strips. Volume 1 was due in October 2007, but now has a release date of 2010. Here’s the original solicit via The Beat.
• Fantagraphics Books also announced The Complete Nancy by Ernie Bushmiller. This series will collect the newspaper comic strip starting from the mid-1920′s. You may remember that Drawn and Quarterly is reprinting Nancy by John Stanley which collects the comic books from the 1940′s.
• Here’s the Newsarama lowdown on the Graphic Novels and Novelists panel that was moderated by Tom Spurgeon. Man, now I really wish I was in San Diego.
• Allan Holtz, well-known in the comic strip fan community for his articles on comic strip history for magazines and books, and for his Stripper’s Guide website, announces that his Guide to U.S. Newspaper Comic Strips and Cartoon Panels is now under contract to be published by University of Michigan Press. The book is a compendium of the vital statistics about comic strip and panel series that have appeared in American newspapers. I’ve corresponded with Allan on a number of things and I’m very glad for him. It will be an excellent read.
• From the many Vertigo (DC Comics) panels: Karen Berger, Executive Editor, unveiled slides of Josh Dysart’s upcoming 160 page hardcover graphic novel, Greendale, which centers on Neil Young’s Greendale album. There will also be a Fables prose novel centering on Peter & Max with illustrations by Steve Leialoha.
• DC Comics announced a new T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents series that has been talked about since 2004 and Dark Horse announced new ongoing titles of Gold Key characters including Turok, Magnus: Robot Fighter, and Doctor Solar. I say this because a DC and Dark Horse has done a wonderful job collecting the classic series in both of their Archive series.
• BOOM! Studios announced The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck HC. Now that Boom has this license, perhaps we’ll finally see Complete Carl Barks Collection that was originally solicited by Gemstone.
• Also, speaking of BOOM! did anyone go to their booth and pick up Farscape Vol. 1 HC Scorpius Edition limited to 500 copies, signed by Farscape  creator Rockne S. O’Bannon and series writer Keith R.A. DeCandido? If so, let me know.
• Tim Burton announced The Art of Tim Burton Limited Hardcover, due out later this year, most likely in time for Halloween, it will have over 400 pages and contain over 1,000 illustrations.

Day 2 is upon us and so far the big talk this year has been so many companies announcing Digital Comics and/or iTunes initiatives. I’ll cover that topic on next week’s podcast, as well.
One note regarding all the Archie reprint news, keep in mind that Dark Horse will be covering the Archie Comic Book line, while IDW will be reprinting the Archie Comic Newspaper Strip line. Both are going to very exciting to see when they come out and when it’s all said and done, you’ll have a very complete collection of Archie. I want to know if your in for the ride.
Now let’s get to some Collected edition news from the Con.

• And the BIG Marvel News is: Marvel has purchased the rights to Marvelman. No word on an sort of reprint or collected edition project (at this time), Quesada said he’s excited to see the “continuing adventures” of Marvelman -CBR.
  
• Drawn & Quarterly has acquired world rights to the original graphic novel, Wilson, by award-winning cartoonist, Oscar-nominated screenwriter and New Yorker illustrator Daniel Clowes,  it will be published in 2010.
• Quirk Book’s bestselling transformation of Jane Austen’s classic novel Pride and Prejudice into, well, a zombie novel, Del Rey Books announced plans to turn Pride and Prejudice and Zombies into a graphic novel. Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: The Graphic Novel will be published in 2010. OK, Whatever.
• More Digital Comics ahem… goodness: Universal Uclick and Stan Lee have partnered to debut his Stripperella in a direct-to-iPhone release. The mobile comic book is a four series comic written by Stan with art by Anthony Winn.
• Even Spider-Man is going Digital.
• Not from the Con, but cool news anyway: Altus Press has announced Ki-Gor: The Complete Series Volume 1. For the first time, the Ki-Gor series from the pages of Jungle Stories is collected, complete and in order! Volume 1 is introduced by Tom Johnson and includes the first six Ki-Gor stories.
• IDW has announced more Darwyn Cooke Parker GN’s. Said to be part of the The Man With The Getaway Face and huge chunks if not all of The Outfit and that will be out in 2010.
• Tom Spurgeon moderated the Comic Con panel: Comic Strip Reprints Revolution. Who knew? If you attended please let me know what went on. I’ll see if I can get Tom to throw us a few bones, too. And if you can, play along on Tom’s Blog, The Comics Reporter.
• Found on Twitter: @glspotlight via the DC Nation Panel Bob Wayne says that if Absolute Rebirth is successful, there may be an Absolute Sinestro Corps War. That’s how it should have been collected in the first place.
• Also from the DC Nation Panel: No plans for an Absolute Dark Victory. And the there is this (via CBR’s coverage) A fan wanted DC to stop leaving issues out of its trade paperbacks and hardcovers. Bob Wayne asked for applause to see who would prefer this and who would prefer issues left out “if it makes a stronger book with a beginning, middle, and end.” The former won out. “I will take that information and use it in whatever way I want,” Wayne said.
• Tyrese Gibson then unveiled a new piece of wraparound artwork for a Mayhem OGN (Image) book slated for later in the year.
• DC’s Wednesday Comics Panel: “What’s the strategy for reprinting?” Kurt Busiek: “It’s going to be collected as a series of billboards.” Mark Chiarello: “We’re going to be worried about finishing the last four issues before we think too much about that. But size matters. We’re looking at that now.” Hmmm…that’s exactly what I said.
• Comic-Con 2009 Podcast Panel .MP3 Audio Recorded by John Mayo. Bob Bretall was part of the Fourth Annual Podcasting Panel at Comic-Con International: San Diego 2009 along with representatives from a few other comic book podcasts.
• Vertigo Panel: Karen Berger: “There are no plans to collect the Vertigo V2K books, but there should”. When asked about Absolute Invisibles, Berger said, “they are sticking with current editions and that Vertigo tends more toward the Deluxe Editions like Y: The Last Man rather than Absolutes”. Really? Then why did you show a slide of the Absolute Death (due later this Fall), or for that matter, publish the Absolute Sandman Volume 1-4?
• Eisner Award Winners as they are related to Collected Editions:
  • Best Humor Publication – Herbie Archives, by Sean O’Shea aka Richard E. Hughes and Ogden Whitney (Dark Horse)
  • Best Anthology – Comic Book Tattoo: Narrative Art Inspired by the Lyrics and Music of Tori Amos, edited by Rantz Hoseley (Image)
  • Best Reality-Based Work – What It Is, by Lynda Barry (Drawn & Quarterly)
  • Best Graphic Album—New – Swallow Me Whole, by Nate Powell (Top Shelf)
  • Best Graphic Album—Reprint – Hellboy Library Edition, vols. 1 and 2, by Mike Mignola (Dark Horse)
  • Best Archival Collection/Project—Strips – Little Nemo in Slumberland, Many More Splendid Sundays, by Winsor McCay (Sunday Press Books)
  • Best Archival Collection/Project—Comic Books – Creepy Archives, by various (Dark Horse)
  • Best Comics-Related Periodical/Journalism – Comic Book Resources, produced by Jonah Weiland (www.comicbookresources.com)
  • Best Comics-Related Book – Kirby: King of Comics, by Mark Evanier (Abrams)
  • Best Publication Design – Hellboy Library Editions, designed by Cary Grazzini and Mike Mignola (Dark Horse)