This is just glorious. Henry Flint’s cover for 2000AD‘s Free Comic Book Day 2013 issue, courtesy of the 2000AD Twitter feed:

I’ve spent a lot of this year telling people that 2000AD has been on a high recently, but with new Dredd and Zombo, as well as reprints of Indigo Prime and DR & Quinch… People: This is already one of the must-have FCBD releases of next year. It’ll be amazing.

Given the infinite nature of the Internet, asks Shaenon Garrity, why are there certain types of webcomics that seem to be absent?

And yet, despite all the thousands of comics knocking around in the tubes, some genres remain surprisingly underrepresented. Not entirely unrepresented, of course; in a field where math comics become mega-blockbusters and something as bizarre as “Homestuck” attracts cosplayers and slash fiction, there really is something out there for everyone. And yet there still exist near-virgin territories of webcomicking into which the enterprising artist could make considerable inroads, and here are three that strike me as particularly hopeful.

Now I know to add “create a critical, political webcomic for kids” to my To-Do list for 2013.

Over in the New Statesman of all places, Colin Smith talks to Al Ewing and Henry Flint about the creative resurgence of 2000AD this year:

A comic that’s approaching its 36th year in print might be expected to be heading for heritage status, safely churning out approximations of old glories for an ever-diminishing audience. But no one could hold on to such an assumption after interviewing Flint and Ewing. Both speak enthusiastically, for example, of their involvement in the recent Trifecta crossover, in which a trio of apparently quite separate strips by entirely different creative teams were slowly revealed to be telling the same story from multiple perspectives. The equivalent of three prime-time cop shows reaching mid-series before unexpectedly beginning to merge, Trifecta presented the reader with an unusually complex and inventive cross-narrative about a coup in Judge Dredd’s beloved Mega-City One. An experiment the likes of which the comic had never seen before, it’s been greeted with unanimously positive reviews.

Yet no matter how enthused by that experience Flint’s been, he’s still playfully sure that the next Zombo series will be, all “modesty set aside… brilliant”. But then, as Ewing argues, “the best thing we’ve done together is always the newest thing”.

Both Ewing and Flint are talents to pay a lot of attention to in the future. 2000AD, on the evidence of recent issues, is also something that should be considered a must-read once again. Here’s to more of all three in 2013.

With the book’s creators now fully-fledged superstars at Marvel, iFanboy talks to Rick Remender, Tony Moore and Jerome Opena for an Oral History of Fear Agent. Here’s Remender explaining the early appeal of doing the series:

The idea was to just be untethered in imagination and to be able to do something that was grounded in a character that you cared about. The adventures that he would go through would be any amazing, cool, science fiction ideas that we had. We wanted to work in time travel and dimension hopping, doppelgangers, and every kind of wonderful sci-fi trove we could. We understood the important thing had to be Heath and his story and who he was.

The second installment (of three) is due to run today. It’s a great format for a classic series; I hope to see more of this kind of thing for other books soon.

If you have an iPad and an interest in comics that extends beyond the Big Two, may I draw your attention to Symbolia, which launches today…?:

Symbolia is a bi-monthly digital magazine dedicated to incendiary storytelling from around the world. We’re merging longform journalism and sequential art to create an entirely new digital news experience. Subscriptions are $11.99 for 6 issues, and single issues will be available for $2.99 a pop. Our preview issue is free, and comes with any subscription.Symbolia’s preview issue features incredible stories from around the globe, including:

• Susie Cagle’s thoughtful exploration of California’s Salton Sea.
• A look at life in Iraqi Kurdistan by Sarah Glidden.
• Kat Fajardo and Audrey Quinn on evolution and a fish called “The White Man’s Office” in the Lower Congo River.
• The bold history of Zambian Psychadelic Rock, by Chris A. Smith and Damien Scogin.
• Andy Warner and Lauren Sommer tour the millions of microflora in our guts.

If you don’t have an iPad but want to read this kind of thing, don’t worry; they’re working on eBook editions for Amazon, Nook, and Google stores, as well as stand-alone Kindle and Android apps. This could be the start of something awesome, really.

Well worth sharing, as we head into the season of giving, from Sean Howe’s Tumblr…

[Don] McGregor and [Gene] Colan’s “Detectives, Inc.” stories are collected here.Roughly 20 more copies need to be sold before Don McGregor’s royalties start kicking in. He and his family have had a number of health issues lately, so he could definitely use some extra income. Do you think we can make that happen before the holidays? If you reblog this, we can get the word out.

McGregor is one of those writers who may not have been a big name, but who had a big impact on those who read his stuff. Go, buy Dectectives, Inc. already.

This doesn’t look good:

Digital Manga President Hikaru Sasahara has announced that print releases for the company’s DMP, June Manga, DokiDoki and 801 Media imprints will be placed on hiatus effective January 2013 until June.  The step is being taken “to coordinate our production schedule for 2013 and temporarily shift our focus to our digital publications,” he said.

I am in no way a manga expert, and so have no idea whether DMP releases had been particularly unfocused prior to this announcement, but nonetheless; suspending the first half of a year’s output to sort out any problem seems like a somewhat drastic move. According to the ICv2 report, titles solicited for December are actually included in the suspension list, although everything previously solicited will appear at some point post-June.

Okay, this is going to be worth paying attention to:

The Journal has learned that legendary EC writer/editor Al Feldstein and the estate of Mad editor/cartoonist Harvey Kurtzman have filed notices to reclaim the copyrights on their work. Feldstein confirmed the filing and told the Journal he has already reached a settlement with the William M. Gaines Agency, which owns all the EC horror, science-fiction and crime properties that Feldstein worked on as editor and writer in the early 1950s. Those titles include the classic Crypt of Terror, Vault of Horror, Tales from the Crypt, Haunt of Fear, Weird Fantasy and Weird Science. Gaines agency administrator Dorothy Crouch confirmed the agency has reached an agreement with Feldstein, but declined to comment further.

Of particular possible interest? DC Entertainment holds the rights to the work for MAD. Given DC’s prior history with rights reversions, what are the odds that that’s going to happen without legal battles?

Mark Millar is talking about the upcoming Kick-Ass 2 movie, currently shooting in London:

What can I say? Let me tell you that yesterday as I was sitting in Eddie Hamilton’s edit suite (think James Coburn’s apartment in Our Man Flint) I literally for the first time thought this might actually be BETTER than the original. This was a huge moment for me because there is no bigger fan of the first movie than me. I think it’s pretty close to perfect. But there’s so much in this, the whole thing so rich, that I honestly think this might be the Empire Strikes Back to Star Wars. I’d seen over 40 mins before, but seeing the edited version of the next 20 mins gave me a very comprehensive look for how the finished movie is going to look and I was actually quite shocked. I won’t spoil scenes for anyone who hasn’t read the source material (the Hit-Girl series and Kick-Ass 2 comic), but there are so many great moments here. Kubrick said that a great movie has eight terrific moments. I lay in bed this morning and counted fourteen genuine movie-moment scenes. You can look at the book and probably guess these, but they’re articulated so beautifully. I was really happy when I came away a couple of weeks back, but the Millar Gang and I were ecstatic when we left Eddie’s suite yesterday. People are going to LOVE this and we all had a feeling that this was going to go really wide when it opens next June.

There’s so much more at the thread on Millarworld. Kick-Ass 2 is due for release next year.

Why did Matthew Vaughn leave X-Men: Days of Future Past? Turns out, rumors that he wanted to concentrate on The Secret Service were right on the money, according to co-creator (and executive producer of the movie) Mark Millar:

We thought Matthew was going to do X-Men first, but we found out there were actually a few imitators of ‘Secret Service’ in the works. People think you’re lying when you say you’re not trying to get your comics made into movies so quickly, but the two reasons it happens like that is first because it’s the best ad for the comic you’ll ever have. And for me, selling the book is the most important thing. The second reason is because people are always trying to rip you off. Somebody will start to work on a spec screenplay about your idea. There are three other projects I know of now about a James Bond kind of guy taking a street kid and turning him into a spy. Three screenplays were already going through Hollywood about this! So Matthew and I said, ‘Fuck this. We’re not letting anyone steal our ideas.’

So, I wonder how quickly we’ll see a Secret Service movie in theaters, if they’re planning on making this as soon as possible…?

I missed this earlier, but over the weekend, the Observer newspaper in the UK announced the winner and runner-up in the 2012 Graphic Short Story Prize it runs with publisher Jonathan Cape and the London International Comics Festival (which happens this upcoming weekend). The winner was But I Can’t by Corban Wilkins – You can read it here – about UFOs and friendship, and it’s beautiful work; talking about the win, Wilkins said “To be honest, this has come at the right time. I’m broke. Unfortunately, it may have to go on rent,” but added that his next project will be completing his graphic novel Breaker’s End and trying to find a publisher for it. Hopefully, publishers will search him out after this win; it’s a great debut.

(I really enjoyed the runner-up, I, Yeti by Steven Tillotson, too; you can read that here.)

To celebrate the sixth year of the prize – Admit it, you didn’t even know it existed – the Observer and Jonathan Cape have made Shorties, Bryan Talbot’s 125 page anthology of his favorite entries to date – available online in its entirety. Here’s an embedded version for your reading pleasure:
Graphic Short Story prize

So, can we take this as confirmation of the Locke & Key movie rumors, then…? From producer/screenwriter Roberto Orci’s Twitter:

(Via.)

If this were true, it would be awesome:

[Guillermo del Toro] does want to do his own version of the Avengers, just supernaturally. Called HEAVEN SENT he is combining all the magical beings from DC Comics in one epic adventure. Deadman, The Spectre, Swamp Thing, Constantine Hellblazer, Phantom Stranger, Zatanna, Zatara, and Sargon as well as Etrigan the Demon will team up to no doubt save us from the Stay Puft Marshmallow man. Now this one is a ways away, but Warner’s lawyers have been working every night trying to clear the rights to all these characters.

I’m unsure about the veracity of this, purely because del Toro is a busy, busy man – and also one with more connection with Marvel (for whom he’s executive producing the new Hulk TV project) than DC, surely. And yet… the idea of a movie version of Justice League Dark (or, let’s be honest, Swamp Thing‘s “American Gothic” storyline, judging by that line-up of characters) would really be great.

The same rumor-monger from Latino Review also says that FX’s second Powers pilot had the same level of success (ie, not enough) with the powers that be at the channel, but you might want to take both rumors with a pinch of salt considering they’re accompanied by this:

Bendis is one of the single best writers in the Comic Book Business and he has been with these managers for over 15 years, which is why they manage to sign so many other creators. During that time Bendis has gotten dozens of hit TV shows on the air as well as 4 of the top 20 films of all time.

Either that’s sarcasm, or this writer is plainly crazy. Bendis has “gotten dozens of hit TV shows on the air”? Or four of the top 20 films of all time?

UPDATE: Bendis has tweeted that “reports in Latino review about the powers pilot at 100% false. every name and fact are incorrect.” So, now we know, then.

Ryan Haupt thinks about anthology comics:

The thing I love about anthologies is in the world of advanced previews anthologies offer one of the few opportunities for genuine surprise in comics. You open an anthology knowing you’re going to get a certain type of story but the actual execution of that story is an unknown, and even if you heard about one story there’s another one just a few pages down the line ripe with new possibilities.

This, in a roundabout way, reminded me that I haven’t talked about the latest issue of 2000AD yet. It’s hard to talk about why it’s so well done and impressive, without ruining the very thing that makes it so well done and impressive, so all I will say is this: What the creators of 2000AD Prog 1807 manage to pull off is something that could only be done in an anthology series, and is so impressively simply and yet completely effective that it really does deserve all manner of applause and praise.

Again, I don’t want to spoil it for people, but I will say this: For full effect, you want to go back and read the last four issues in their entirety, just to ensure that you don’t miss anything. Really, really good stuff that’s both smart structurally and just plain good science fiction outside of the formal play.

If you’ve been tempted to try some of the Monkeybrain titles but haven’t taken the dive just yet, wait a couple of days. Chris Roberson explains why:

Over the decades, countless comic creators have given us excitement and inspiration, entertained and educated us. And we need to give back.

For most of the history of American comic books, the only income that creators received were the page rates for the work they did. Writers, artists, letterers, and colorists would be paid a flat rate for the pages they turned in, without any royalties for sales or equity for their creations. If a comic were to be reprinted, the creators would not receive any additional payment, nor would they be compensated if characters and concepts from their work were used elsewhere, whether in other comics, in other media, or in merchandising. And since the overwhelming majority of comic creators were freelance employees, there were no pensions or retirement funds for them to look forward to.

In more recent decades, comic book publishers have instituted new policies for comic creators. Some began to offer royalties and bonus incentives for creators, so that if their work sold well or was reprinted, they would participate in those profits. Some publishers instituted creator equity deals, so that if a creator’s concepts and characters were to generate profits in other media, the creator would reap some of the benefit. But few if any of these policies have been made retroactive, and as much as later generations of creators have benefited from the improved financial arrangements, generations of creators who came before them have not.

There are far too many stories of well-respected, talented writers and artists who created successful and beloved comics in previous decades, and who now are living in reduced means—unable to afford health care, unable to find paying work, some even homeless. At the same time, characters created and co-created by many of these same creators have gone on to appear in major motion pictures, on television, and in toy aisles.

The American comic book industry was built on selling morality tales to young readers, stories of men and women who fought for justice and stood up for what was right. And the writers, artists, and others who created those stories deserve better than they have received.

Thankfully, they have the Hero Initiative in their corner.

For more than a decade, the Hero Initiative has provided a safety net for comic book veterans who need assistance, whether in the form of financial support, emergency medical aid, or an avenue back to paying work. In that time, the Hero Initiative has granted more than $500,000 to over 50 comic book veterans. But as a not-for-profit corporation, the Hero Initiative relies on donations and contributions to continue its work.

Throughout the month of November, Monkeybrain Comics will be donating all of its income to the Hero Initiative. Our creators will still receive their cut of the profits, but the portion of each sale that we retain as publisher’s profits will be donated in its entirety to the Hero Initiative.

As we in the United States prepare to celebrate the American holiday of Thanksgiving, please consider giving thanks to the veteran creators who have given us so much over the years by donating to the Hero Initiative. And we encourage other publishers to join us in supporting the Hero Initiative through direct donations. Unless and until creator royalties and equity participation policies are made retroactive, charities like the Hero Initiative are the only support many veteran creators have available to them.

Sincerely,
Chris Roberson
Monkeybrain Comics

If you have been checking out the Monkeybrain books through ComiXology, you’ll know how good they are across the board. If you haven’t, I suggest that you wait until Thursday and try out Edison Rex, Amelia Cole and The Unknown World and Bandette first, although you can’t really go wrong with any of them. There’s even a couple of new titles being launched tomorrow: Brandon Seifert, and Michael Montenat’s Spirit of The Law and Zach Smith and Rich Ellis’ The Stars Below, previews of which are below. Seriously, this is a great think Chris, Alison and Monkeybrain are doing, and I hope they everyone tries out some new comics and helps the Hero Initiative as a result.

Over at the Comics Journal, Chris Mautner talks to Glyn Dillon, creator of one of the year’s best books, The Nao of Brown:

The majority of the book was done in watercolor. The Ichi pages are digital, Photoshop. I did use Photoshop to help with the watercolor. I would print out [pages] in the way they used to where they’d print out your black line and your blue line and a colorist might paint that and they’d have an acetate sheet over the top. You can do that at home now. I’d print out the black line at a lower capacity onto watercolor paper, paint that and then scan that back in and put it together with the black line again. So if I fucked up I could just print out a new page.

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: You need to search this book out, even if it’s only to see the artwork. Genuinely beautiful stuff.

Best news of the day? That would be that Bandette, the MonkeyBrain creation of Paul Tobin and Colleen Coover, has a brand-new spin-off series Bandette: Urchin Stories launching today:

Bandette is the star of the show, but her world is populated by a wealth of other amusing characters. Who are they? What are their dreams? Their idiosyncrasies? Their loves and hopes and, for gosh sakes, what food pictures are they posting to Instagram?!!? Get to know all the supporting characters from Bandette in these short stories by a wealth of talented guest artists.

First up, Tobin and the spectacular Steve Lieber reveal more about B.D. Belgique, the “most harassed police inspector of all time”:

As someone who loves Bandette, this is a great, great thing indeed.

IDW CEO Ted Adams talks IDW Limited, the publisher’s new ultra-high-end limited editions line, at ICv2:

In most cases the edition sizes are so small that selling direct-to-consumer was the best method to avoid overselling which triggers challenging allocations through traditional distribution. With such a small quantity of books we’re launching with, there really wasn’t another way that made sense other than going directly to the consumer. And when I say “small quantity” here’s the perfect example. We’re making 10 copies of the Blue Label edition (the top tier) of our launch book, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Vol. 1 Deluxe Limited Edition. Only 10 of these books for the entire market. How do you allocate that? The only fair thing to do is to give the fans direct access on a first come first served basis. We’re putting an incredible emphasis on quality, and that directly affects the quantity of books IDW Limited can produce. We’re designing new covers, building custom cases and paying the artists to do hand drawn sketch work to go with these books. The reality is that that’s all very expensive and unfortunately it makes it difficult for us to offer this line at the deep discount needed for traditional retail distribution.

Apparently, IDW sees itself doing three or four books like this a month; although no titles are officially announced, he does mention a Transformers release being worked on.

Consider this a public service announcement of sorts. Last night, I read The Nao of Brown, by Glyn Dillon (Steve Dillon’s brother, for those who like to know about comic book familial relationships), which is described by its publisher thusly:

Nao Brown suffers from OCD, but not the handwashing, overly tidy type that people often refer to jokingly. Nao suffers from violent morbid obsessions, while her compulsions take the form of unseen mental rituals. Working part-time in a “designer” vinyl toy shop, while struggling to get her own illustration career off the ground, she’s still searching for that elusive love – the perfect love. And in meeting the man of her dreams, she realizes… dreams can be quite weird. Nao’s meditation practice is an attempt to quieten her mind and open her heart, and it’s through this that she comes to understand that  things aren’t so black and white after all. In fact, they’re much more… brown.

It was just released through Diamond yesterday, for those curious enough to check it out, and I urge you to do so. Not only is Dillon’s writing wonderfully messy in a way that feels honest and affecting and thoughtprovoking, but it is also the best-looking comic I have seen in the longest time (And this has been a year filled with some beautiful comic books). Here are three pages to back up my claim:

A serious contender for graphic novel of the year, for me. If you like stories about normal people with real problems told with kindness, subtlety and humor, hunt it down. If nothing else, just for the amazing, amazing art.

We now return you to your regular posts about superheroes and snark.

I’m very happy to see that Chris Roberson and Rich Ellis’ underrated IDW series Memorial is already continuing, via a nine-part digital series, Memorial: Imaginary Friends:

Return to the world of MEMORIAL in “Imaginary Fiends,” an all new digital-only 9 part series! The fantasies and fears that seem so real to children are often forgotten in adulthood. But after the events of the first Memorial miniseries, forgotten memories are being recovered all over the world. Can those lost fears and fantasies be far behind?

I guess that, maybe, I shouldn’t be too surprised by this: Roberson’s MonkeyBrain digital imprint has shown that he’s firmly in the digital camp these days, exploring the format and coming up with the goods en route (The third Edison Rex, his digital series with Dennis Culver, is also out today and should be checked out if you haven’t already sampled the book), and yet – I don’t know; I tend to think of print and digital separately, for some reason. If something starts in print, I imagine that it’ll stay as print with the occasional digital reprint, but not digital spin-off. Seeing new Memorial turn up like this – without the traditional solicit-then-three-month-wait cycle that you get with print – is a really pleasant surprise, and one I’m hoping to see more of in future.