For those of us who assumed that the Marvel Season One OGNs might be primarily based at a Disney Store audience, David Gabriel has an interesting response during an iFanboy interview on the line:

I want to be clear that the direct market is still our #1 source for getting this type of material out to all consumers. It’s up to us and our retail partners to work on methods of driving new faces into those stores. This content in everySeason One story is what we believe is perfect for bringing new readers into both comics and comic stores.As far as book store markets go, while of course we are all dismayed at what has happened with Borders, keep in mind that there is still a vibrant market for graphic novels out in the world. The point here is to get fresh new content out there and work with those existing book market retailers to do what we can to make this as successful a launch as possible.

Don’t forget, the fans are still out there, the readers and consumers still exist. They will find places to go and our job is to now get these titles into as many outlets as possible so they have the widest selection.

I’m not sure whether the “the direct market is our #1 source” is meant to be a reassurance to DM retailers, or just a statement of fact as to the way things are right now. Certainly, saying “our job is to now get these titles into as many outlets as possible” implies pushing outside of the DM, and the Disney Store seems like an obvious next step for Marvel. Digital, too, but there’s every possibility that Marvel might be purposefully lagging on that to see how DC’s linewide day-and-date goes when it launches in September.

Today’s Must-Read: David Brothers on Miles Morales being “Black Spider-Man”:

“Black Spider-Man” otherizes Miles Morales. (It also ignores that he’s half-Puerto Rican, but that’s another conversation entirely.) He’s not Spider-Man. He’s black Spider-Man. He isn’t the new Spider-Man first, or Ultimate Spider-Man first. He’s black Spider-Man. Which is funny, because Barry Allen and Wally West were just the new Flashes. Hal Jordan is a Green Lantern, but John Stewart is the black Green Lantern.

It foregrounds Miles’s race in a conversation where his race should be irrelevant. His race is probably going to end up being just as big a part of his character as it was for Peter Parker–which I do think was a fairly significant part of that character–but in terms of who the character is and how we refer to him, “black Spider-Man” is garbage.

It sets up the adjective-less Spider-Man as the default, and therefore superior, version. Black Spider-Man will always be second-best because he wasn’t first. Comics fans in particular like to prize the original flavor, or whichever flavor was dominant whenever they began reading, so you can’t tell me that isn’t true. Every time I read “black Spider-Man” I taste battery acid. It feels mean, like the most important part of Miles’s character is that he’s (whisper this with me) not white!

So much more in the link, including DC’s labeling of Batwing as “The Batman of Africa.” Seriously smart stuff that you should go and read right now.

I kind of love the randomness of this news story: Toby Scammell, who works at an investment firm in California, has been charged with insider trading for buying up Marvel stock after finding out from his girlfriend – who works in Disney’s corporate strategies department – that the House of Mouse was planning to buy the House of Ideas. But, wait, it gets better: The money he used to buy the stock, which rose in value 25% once the Disney deal was made public? It wasn’t even his; he took the money from his brother’s bank account, which he had access to while his brother was serving in Iraq.

Scammell – and that name is almost too perfect, don’t you think? – reportedly made around $192,000 in profit when he sold his stocks soon after the Disney/Marvel buyout was announced. Rosalind R. Tyson, director of the SEC’s Los Angeles Regional Office, said that Scammell “exploited his romantic relationship for a financial windfall,” leading to the SEC asking for him to pay back all $192,00 with interest, as well as seeking a permanent injunction on his working in investments ever again. Clearly, he didn’t get his moral compass from comic books. If he had, he’d have known in advance that crime never pays.

Blame the post-San Diego crush for my missing this spectacular quote from Mark Millar about his upcoming Millarworld line of comics:

Millarworld is our full time job and getting together with these artists feels as exciting as 1992 must have felt when Todd and Jim and Rob and the guys all got together and carried their mainstream success over into their own company. Something they owned and could pass along to their children. The guys and I have been working away in the background, and between now and Christmas, there’s some sensational announcements. Anyone who knows me knows I don’t like to do things by half. I really, genuinely want to make this the Big Three instead of the Big Two. I think the plan laid down in 2012 is going to surprise a lot of people with the scale of the ambition.

Well, you can’t fault him for ambition, or for his choice in collaborators – In the same interview, he lists his artists on the upcoming books as John Romita Jr., Lenil Francis Yu, Steve McNiven, Frank Quitely and Dave Gibbons – but I have more than a few doubts that any line that small will break the market share of someone like a Dark Horse, IDW or Image to measure up to Marvel or DC’s (Especially with those artists – Millar talks about this somewhat in the piece, saying that Quitely, Gibbons and Yu will be full-time on the Millarworld books, but Romita and McNiven will surely be prioritizing their Marvel work over the creator-owned stuff, surely…? And doesn’t Quitely still have his Multiversity work for DC to finish before he even starts on this…?). Still, it does sound like there’s more up his sleeve than we know about, so who knows? If nothing else, it’d be fun to see him try.

So, let me get this straight. Marvel explains away its “Comics for Comics” program with SVP of Publishing David Gabriel saying “In these tough economic times, [we] feel it’s our duty to help,” and then they announce a promotional variant that requires the retailer to order two thousand additional copies? Putting aside the fact that this is the worst variant deal I can remember, I can only hope that (a) the 2000 figure is wrong for some reason (200, maybe, but 2000 extra copies? Seriously), (b) David Gabriel explains why this variant idea is somehow helping retailers in these tough economic times, and (c) DC suggests that it will offer a special limited edition variant of their own in exchange for copies of Amazing Spider-Man.

Editor: Apparently I missed our original piece about the offer, in which Albert pointed out last July’s offer of Marvel for Marvel:

“Marvel offered retailers a very similar deal in January 2010, with a Siege #3 variant offered for Blackest Night tie-in books. Last July, they offered their own unsold comics as part of the program.”

So there you go. Still weird, though!

I admit, the whole “Tear off your Flashpoint tie-in covers to get a Fear Itself variant” thing has kind of left me cold; the “How could Marvel do that?” aspect is gone, because they did it before with Blackest Night and it’s the kind of cheap stunt that only really works in terms of PR shock once, and at least the McGuinness cover is better than the terrible Deadpool variant they offered for Siege way back when. But I was interested to see Tom Brevoort say this over on Twitter, in response to a fan complaining that Marvel should’ve offered the variant for returned Fear Itself tie-ins:

We’ve done this with Marvel books in the past too, but nobod[y] covers that because it’s not provocative.

Two things:

1. Isn’t the provocative nature the entire point of this offer? Complaining that people are covering it because it’s provocative feels as false as claiming that this is only being done to help retailers (which it can do, sure, but it’s really a PR exercise, let’s face it).

2. Has Marvel really done this in the past with Marvel books? I don’t remember any such offer offhand, but I’m sure someone out there will remember if it’s happened. To be clear: I’m asking whether Marvel has previously publicly announced a variant edition of one of their books in exchange for stripped covers of their own books as specified by title and issue, not just whether Marvel has offered variants in exchange for hitting specific order levels or whatever. Any retailers out there who can help me out here?

Here’s Warren Ellis on recent rumors around the Big Two publishers’ editorial practices:

I’m hearing a lot lately about writers being put into foot races on gigs.  And not only do they not know who else is running for the job – but many of them seem not to be told they’re in a foot race at all.  Writers who assumed they were writing the gig are being told that they never had the gig at all, that other writers have been run parallel to them.  Even though they were put through multiple drafts.  They didn’t know they were in competition. (more…)

Here’s some unexpected good news for the comic industry: It’s not dying everywhere.

According to sales data presented at the pre-SDCC ICv2 Comics, Media & Digital Conference, bookstore sales rose 7% in the first half of 2011, ending a downward trend that’s plagued that market since 2009. Interestingly enough, the bookstore growth more than offsets the 6% drop in graphic novel sales in the direct market, resulting in an overall 3% increase in GN sales across all markets, due to the larger size of the bookstore market than the DM.

The data also suggests that a rise in sales of all-ages/kid-centric GNs offset a decline in adult-oriented fare, and that manga as a whole is still declining, but at a slower rate than before; 10% drops, instead of 15% last year. Now, if only we could work out some way to stop the bookstore market as a whole from collapsing, then we could maybe turn this whole thing around…

What does a Supreme Court decision about video games have to do with comic book censorship? As Jeff Trexler explains in the latest of his spectacular series of posts on the Comics Code Authority at the Comics Journal, everything:

Look carefully at the comics community and you’ll see that the work traditionally done by such industry groups as trade associations or unions–legal guidance and advocacy, collective business promotion, provision for the needs of employees–is now performed by a network of charities and commercial companies that aren’t themselves publishers. The San Diego Comic-Con is a charity, but it functions in many ways like a trade show. The Hero Initiative cares for creators in need, while comic and cartoon museums highlight the value of characters, creators and companies. Reed, a for-profit venture, brings together nonprofits and comics-themed businesses in a commercial con. Each of these–and any number of other groups–promotes the comics industry, but the industry itself lacks the sort of collective voice that we continue to see in film, television and music.The main reason for the withering away of the trade association is that the traditional comics industry no longer exists. The mainstays of the CMAA have become platform-agnostic. Instead of maintaining a commitment to comics as a medium, the post-comics industry has evolved into a network of IP farms that have internalized content regulation as an integral part of brand management. An industry code has become corporate social responsibility–not paternalistic rules imposed by external industry police but an organic extension of each brand’s defining values.

Censorship, Trexler argues, may have been seen to have lost the battle, but it’s won the war by becoming so ingrained in the culture that publishers may not even be aware that they’re doing it. It’s a good read. Go check it out.

It’s sad news that Peter Laird has announced the end of the Xeric Award for upcoming indie cartoonists, especially looking at Laird’s explanation as to why:

When I began the Xeric Foundation back in 1992, things were very different. The Internet — and web-based publishing — was in its infancy. This has changed, radically, and the Xeric Foundation needs to change accordingly.

The advent of essentially free web publishing has forever altered the way aspiring comic book creators can get their work out into the public eye. With this in mind, I have decided that it makes sense that the Xeric Foundation will no longer provide grants to self-publishing comic book creators, and instead devote all of its available grants funds to charitable organizations.

Ignoring that webcomics and print comics are two different beasts – and that the rise of one does not necessarily mean a drop-off in those wanting to pursue the other – I’m surprised that Laird is dropping the grant altogether, instead of perhaps offering smaller grants for webcomic creators. After all, “essentially free” is not the same as “actually free,” and the more popular a webcomic, the greater the server costs.

I’m not begrudging the donations to charitable organizations – Just the opposite – but I do wish there had been some way to keep the support system for new creators in addition to that. After all, it’s not like there are multiple Peter Lairds out there offering money to the next generation of comic creators…

As if the relaunching of First Comics wasn’t interesting enough, co-founder Ken Levin offers this surprising bit of news very casually in an interview with CBR:

My understanding is that the initial First Comics titles will be made available to retailers in November, and that First Comics will be directly marketing to comic book stores rather than go through distributors. Retailers at Comic-Con will be able to arrange for books at the First Comics booth, #2001 (mnemonic “Space Odyssey” — it’s the only booth number I remember). Their press runs aren’t so many that they can’t deal with stores directly or that stores can’t deal with them directly. Fortunately not my problem; they’ll get it figured out.

Going directly to retailers? Is this just the first releases, or an ongoing program? It’s an interesting thought – Bypassing Diamond means that the books will be absent from the sales charts, but also means that their print runs can be as small as they need to be without falling afoul of Diamond rules that would see them dropped from Previews. But without the books appearing in Previews in the first place, will enough retailers know they exist in order to buy them directly from the publisher…?

The announcement of Marvel’s new retailer initiative – the New Stores initiative, to give it it’s proper title – is an interesting one, both in terms of timing (Coming, as it does, at a time when DC seems to be concentrating on opening up its digital space as much if not more than it is concentrating on print) and what it’s actually offering – or, more specifically, who it’s offering it to. (more…)

With Marvel already teasing December comics as part of its pre-SDCC strategy, I find myself feeling conflicted. On the one hand, the December date seems oddly comforting, as it suggests that Marvel will happily sit back and let DC’s relaunch take up retailers’ time, money and brainspace for a few months – X-Men relaunch aside, of course – which is… good? surprising? unlike Marvel’s traditional attitude towards industry dominance? (All of the above, most likely). There really is something wonderful about the idea that Marvel will back away from the big projects and massive hype until DC’s move has begun to be processed by the industry at large, even if it’s accidental (I suspect the timing of Fear Itself‘s finale may have more to do with the December launches than kindness on Marvel’s part). But on the other hand: We’re already talking about things that are coming out five months from now? (more…)

Why do publishers spoil the endings of large storylines in mainstream media? Comics Alliance’s Laura Hudson asked Marvel’s Arune Singh, and to the surprise of no-one, the answer is “Because it works”:

We’ve seen huge results [in terms of sales]. We make sure to only attach this kind of promotion to our biggest books and those books invariably carry a much higher readership after the push than before the push. I think we can all agree the industry can use new readers and we’ve found these kinds of mainstream media pushes do just that, based on feedback from retailers– most recently with Fantastic Four #587 and the subsequent FF launch. More fans check out the books, retailers sell more copies and have high orders than before this promotion. That’s a winning situation for not just Marvel, but the whole industry– anything we can do to bring in and retain readers benefits us all. Going to a mainstream outlet is what will get lapsed readers and new potential readers to check out our books– we’re going to non comic fans where they get their news to make them aware of our big stories.

I’m always curious about how the demographics of these things breaks down. I’d love to know how many non-comics readers picked up Fantastic Four #587, and of them, how many went on to stay with the story as the series was relaunched as FF. Orders definitely rose overall with the death and relaunch, but was that from comic readers who weren’t previously reading that particular comic, or from readers new to comics?

There’s something important about the answer to that, I suspect; if Fantastic Four and FF are bringing in non readers and retaining them, can we then look at why that works when other comics haven’t, and then work out how to do it again? Is it merely that people need to be reminded that comics exist, or something more (I suspect Steve Epting)?

(Also, something else I’ve always wondered: Are there ever people who were planning to buy a comic, but didn’t, because the end was spoiled for them?)

Well here’s something you don’t hear everyday. Actor Andy Serkis, who served as the visual map and voice for Gollum in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, has just announced Peter Jackson asked him to serve as the second-until director on both of The Hobbit films.

Serkis said it was a fantastic surprise when Jackson emailed him out of the blue. “I think I understand Peter’s sensibility and we have a common history of understanding Middle Earth,” Serkis told The Hollywood Reporter. “A lot of the crew from The Lord of the Rings was returning to work on The Hobbit. There is really a sense of Peter wanting people around him who totally understand the material and the work ethic.”

IMDB.com lists the actor as having acted as a second unit director just once before, on the video game Heavenly Sword, but even that is sublisted as “dramatic director.” Though Serkis is named as a director on another project called Freezing Time, listed as announced.

Serkis told the website his directing duties would go beyond performance capture. “It is wide ranging and encompasses a lot of directing aspects of filmmaking and story. Yes, there is some performance capture, but I will be very much on the live action sets and locations helping Peter to tell the story,” he said. In the same way Lord of the Rings was an interpretation of the book, The Hobbit is being treated the same way,” Serkis said. “It will be faithfully represented with a fresh interpretation.”

“The learning curve is The Hobbit is being shot in 3D,” he added, noting that the 3D would be used “dramatically, to give a point of view.” Or, to make extra money, in this authors opinion.

Serkis just completed his role in the film which is still shooting currently in New Zealand. “He is very much a Gollum that people will recognize,” Serkis said, also adding that the character would be seen in his “truest form.” “When we created Gollum the first time, performance capture was it its infancy,” he said, noting that today, “within the industry, there is more appreciation for it as an acting art form. It’s all about character, learning what the character thinks, feels, how he carries pain.”

THR also mentioned Serkis has two more motion capture roles set for the near future. He will play Caesar in the Planet of the Apes prequel Rise of the Apes and Captain Haddock in The Adventures of TinTin: The Secret of the Unicorn.

Earlier this week, we reported The Sandman television show based on Neil Gaiman’s famous work that had been announced in September of last year, was stalled. Well, DC Comics Chief Creative Officer Geoff Johns says, not true, The Sandman is moving forward.

The earlier news from the Hollywood Reporter had Supernatural creator, Eric Kripke, who was attached to the adaptation saying, “Unfortunately, for a lot of varying reasons, Sandman is not in the works, at least for this season.” He didn’t say it would never happen but he also didn’t sound too optimistic about the whole thing either.

Then, Johns jumped on Twitter to make sure we all knew the TV series was still on. “Correction to world: The Sandman is AWAKE! : ) Psyched to be working with @neilhimself on developing one of the greatest series ever!” he Tweeted. @neilhimself being Gaiman’s Twitter handle.

The original report from last year stated Gaiman was not involved with the show but that that could change. Kripke himself mentioned he had at least spoken with the writer but Johns followed his first  Sandman tweet with another, “Sandman in any form – comics to live action – doesn’t work without @neilhimself.”

As CCO, Johns has his fingers on the pulse of just about every film and television project coming from DC these days so it’s a safe bet The Sandman will be coming to TV eventually and WITH Neil Gaiman involved.

Hold onto your hats fanboys and girls, this is a doozy. Apparently “there can be only one” doesn’t apply to screenwriters. Melissa Rosenberg, adapter of the Twilight Saga for the big screen, has taken over writing duties on the new Highlander reboot.

The reboot itself was news to me. I had no idea they were plannning on an updated version of the 1986 Highlander film starring Christopher Lambert and Sean Connery. According to the Hollywood Reporter, Summit, the studio behind the Twilight films, acquired the Highlander rights back in 2008 from Panzer/Davis Productions.

“Art Marcum and Matt Holloway wrote the initial draft while Cormac Wibberley and Marianne Sellek Wibberley also worked on the script,” says THR. Besides the Twilight Saga, Rosenberg has written episodes of the failed Birds of Prey television series as well as Dexter.

Neal Moritz (I Am Legend, The Green Hornet) and Peter Davis are producing the project and Justin Lin (Fast & Furious) is set to direct. Davis was the producer on the original Highlander as well as the subsequent television show and sequels.

So Highlander fans, what do you think of the Twilight screenwriter taking a crack at Connor MacLeod? I’m more than a little concerned. Then again, the last few Highlander movies have been pretty awful, maybe this will breathe some new life into the franchise. At least she’s familiar with immortals, albeit sparkly ones.

Roger Hargreaves’ beloved children’s book series Mr. Men is being adapted into an animated feature by Fox.

Almost every kid I knew had one of these (if not more) books lying around the house. You remember, Mr. Tickle, Mr. Nosey, Little Miss Sunshine, etc. Well according to the Hollywood Reporter, producer Shawn Levy is joining Twentieth Century Fox Animation to bring us an animated adaptation of the British author’s works.

Levy, who is best known for directing and producing Night at the Museum and its subsequent sequel, does not have a director or writer attached to the project as of yet.

This isn’t the first time the Mr. Men have been animated, this will actually be the fifth adaptation, although the previous efforts have been for television. The first was produced in 1975 by Flicks Films and broadcast by the BBC, the second, in 1983 and also by Flicks Films, featured the Little Miss characters. In 1995 came Mr. Men and Little Miss which was aired in the US as well as the US. And finally, the Cartoon Network got a hold of the franchise in 2006 and created The Mr. Men Show with Renegade Animation.

Hargreaves wrote 48 Mr. Men books and 42 Little Miss books until his son Adam Hargreaves took over after his death in 1988. Since their inception in 1971, they’ve become a pop-culture phenomena and a standard in children’s books. Throughout the years artists have created their own Mr. Men in an homage to the creator and series. Last year someone even did a huge series of superhero characters in the Mr. and Miss likeness.

I am truly heartbroken at this moment. BBC News has reported that Brian Jacques, author of the Redwall series of novels, has died after a heart attack at age 71.

Jacques is very much the reason I’m even typing this on this website today. My love for fantasy, my fueled imagination, they were born in the halls of Redwall Abbey, the mountain peak of Salamandastron (also the title of my favorite in the series, pictured above), and the trees of Mossflower Woods.

The well-crafted world was just the tip of the iceberg, though, as it was the incredibly relate-able characters that made these stories great. These warrior mice, these foul searats, these noble Badger Lords and their military genius Long Patrol rabbits… they all spoke with a level of humanity untouched by other stories written for children. As I grew older, I continued to read the new books for quite some time, and while I eventually fell out-of-touch with my friends at Redwall Abbey, I never forgot what they meant to me.

I was truly privileged to have met Jacques at a reading and signing once. He was gracious and kind, a man astounded by these people coming to him and telling them how he had touched their lives through his written word. He also taught me how to properly say “Mattimeo” and “Salamandastron.”

I’ll even admit that my confirmation name of “Matthias” came to me first because of these novels. We have lost a true and amazing literary talent today, and I want to express my love and thanks for the stories that will live on forever after.

Well, he certainly got people talking, huh?

In a video trying to inspire comic creators to make their own new characters and stories, “The Goon” creator Eric Powell made some statements that have turned out to be a bit, as he says, “divisive.” Our own Jill Pantozzi gave her opinion/interpretation of the video in yesterday’s “Hey, That’s My Cape!” column, and folks from The Beat to ComicsAlliance and everywhere in between have weighed in.

In an effort to clarify some of the issues, Eric Powell released a statement on Facebook, which he has asked we also share with you here. The statement in full follows the jump:

(more…)