• I found this postmortem of Claremont, Calif.’s Comic Bookie, which closes on Friday after 18 years in business, interesting and a little sad. [Daily Bulletin]

• Irene Gallo talks with Freaks of the Heartland artist Greg Ruth about the planned movie adaptation, his early career, and his work process. [Tor.com]

• On a related note, Percy Carey chats with Freaks of the Heartland writer Steve Niles. [Complex.com]

• What could an Obama presidency mean for political cartoonists? [Gawker]

• Joseph Szadkowski profiles Silent Hill and Criminal Macabre artist Nick Stakal. [Washington Times]

• Amazon.com has a brief Q&A with writer Brian Azzarello about his new graphic novel Joker. Curiously, it’s a PDF file. [Amazon.com]

• John Klima spotlights the webcomics Templar, Arizona, FreakAngels and Jump Leads. [Tor.com]

The Will Eisner Spirit of Comic Retailing-winning Brave New World Comics will host an art show starting this Saturday:

This Saturday, November 1, at 7pm, in the Gallery Loft of Brave New World Comics on Lyons Avenue in Newhall, California, a new kind of gallery show will be opening.

“When you tell people that you have an art gallery in your pop culture store, they tend to have a certain kind of art in mind. Usually involving capes and tights,” says Portlyn, Brave New World Comics proprietress of pretty proportions. “But this time around, we wanted to give artists a chance to speak their mind on the election season, our sitting elected officials, and the issues that face them.”

Out of that desire, the NO THIRD TERM Gallery Show was born. Featuring the works of Llyn Hunter and Matt Silady, NO THIRD TERM has also been opened up to the artistic public to make their voices heard. “Nothing’s more democratic than our First Amendment rights and we’re looking forward to seeing how the artists of our community use that right, and this show, to speak up,” Portlyn went on to say.

The opening on Saturday, November 1st will feature the works of these artists and an all American theme

I’ve written enough about Halloween-appropriate books over the past couple of weeks, so I won’t highlight titles like Bernie Wrightson’s Frankenstein, or Screamland, or Cthulhu Tales #7, or Hellboy: The Chapel of Moloch.

Instead, I’ll focus on a Batman manga twofer: the collection of Yoshinori Natsume’s Batman: Death Mask, and the much-anticipated Bat-Manga! The Secret History of Batman in Japan.

If Batman, or manga, isn’t your cup of tea, there’s Final Crisis: Rage of the Red Lanterns, which further lays the groundwork for DC’s next big events. For those in a more political mood, there’s American Presidents and more biographies of John McCain and Barack Obama.

Or, while we’re on the subject of biographies, there’s always Bill Schelly’s Man of Rock: A Biography of Joe Kubert.

To see what other titles Chris Mautner and I think are worth mentioning, just keep reading. As always, let us know your choices in the comments below.

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A little more than a year ago, the American dollar and the Canadian dollar reached parity for the first time in more than three decades, leading to a call for U.S. comics publishers to revise their Canadian prices.

Several did. DC Comics, for instance, announced a single cover price in March. Marvel adjusted its prices to more closely resemble the exchange rate (e.g. $2.99 U.S./$3.05 Canadian).

But now, Publishers Weekly reports, the exchange rate again is in flux, with the Canadian dollar falling more than 70 percent. That means $1 Canadian is now worth about 78 cents U.S., a level not seen since mid-2005.

The decline has happened so fast that many publishing houses are unable to change prices on the wave of books keyed for holiday-season release.

However, it looks like at least one comics publisher was quick to respond.

Toronto-based comics blogger Ty Buttars noted nearly two weeks ago that the Canadian cover price for Marvel’s new releases jumped nearly 15 percent, to $3.50.

After looking at his retailer’s recent invoices from Diamond Comic Distributors, Buttars concludes:

Seems that they are keeping up quite nicely with the craziness. But has Marvel reacted to the recent sharp decline in the $CAD (down about 13-16% in the last three weeks vs the US greenback) too quickly? (Me bitching: They sure took their time reducing cover prices when the US dollar lost ground.) Or is this one of the first steps to prep the market for a gradual price increase in North America? We’ll see once the markets stabilize.

The Alternative Press Expo, or APE, moves from its typical springtime home to the fall this year … or, more specifically, to this coming weekend. The small press comics show will be held Saturday and Sunday at the San Francisco Concourse.

Special guests include Jessica Abel, Paige Braddock, Megan Kelso, Matt Madden, Ethan Nicolle and Chris Ware. The programming schedule includes panels with each of them.

In addition, the exhibitor floor will be filled to the brim with all sorts of comic retailers, creators and publishers, from mini-comics to bigger publishers like Image, Fantagraphics, SLG, IDW and Oni. I personally plan to help stimulate our faltering economy by spending a bunch of money on cool comics this weekend.

Here’s a sample of what some of them have planned … if you’re exhibiting at the show and would like a mention, let me know; I’ll post again later this week.

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• Artist Jim Rugg shares a commission he did for a local comic shop.

• Joshua Dysart has started a blog on his site about his Vertigo title The Unknown Soldier, where you’ll be able to check out a lot of behind-the-scenes stuff like script excerpts, pencils, layouts, etc.

• Friends of Lulu is looking for nominees for treasurer, reporting secretary and membership secretary for their board of directors. Lulu President Valerie D’Orazio has more details.

• Mark Evanier reports on the death of Tom Fagan, who was responsible for the annual Halloween parade in Rutland, Vt. “Writers and artists from the industry journeyed to Rutland to participate in the festivities, often in costume, and art began to imitate life: Many comic book stories were done that were set in Rutland involving DC and Marvel heroes actually attending,” Evanier writes.

• Austin English has a new blog where he’s interviewing various comics creators like David King and Dylan Williams.

• Just in time for your Halloween viewing pleasure, SLG Publishing posts a creepy story on their website — “The Addlepated House of Odds” by Kurt Hartman.

• The Sardinian Connection posts Mike Carey’s afterword from an Italian tribute book to Watchmen (the afterword is in English, BTW).

• Don MacPherson wonders why he hasn’t seen more about Stephen Colbert’s comic book tie-ins on The Colbert Report.

• Shannon Smith takes a look at the minicomic anthology Not My Small Diary #14.

After a couple of somewhat slow weeks, Marvel and DC return to their summer event comics with new issues of Secret Invasion and Final Crisis — plus a pair of tie-ins, of course.

They don’t stop there, though. DC’s Vertigo imprint rolls out collections of Northlanders and Y: The Last Man, and re-releases Paul Pope’s Heavy Liquid as a hardcover. Not to be outdone, Marvel brings out their dead, and undead, with omnibus editions of Frank Miller’s Elektra, and The Tomb of Dracula.

Elsewhere, Blank Slate Books debuts Trains Are Mint and We Can Still Be Friends, Rebellion revisits The Ace Trucking Co., Viz delivers the penultimate volume of Naoki Urasawa’s Monster, and Del Rey and Dabel Bros. unleash The Dresden Files: Welcome to the Jungle.

To see what other titles Chris Mautner and I think are worth mentioning, just keep reading. As always, let us know your choices in the comments below.

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Comics retailer and future wrestling superstar James Sime dropped us a reminder about the deadline for entries for the Isotope Award for Excellence in Mini-Comics — entries are due on Oct. 24. Check out the complete press release after the jump.

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Metro Entertainment is proud to announce that acclaimed comics writer MATT FRACTION will be in Santa Barbara, CA for an in-store FREE autograph signing! One of the most popular writers in comics today, Matt Fraction is the man behind the pen of such popular Marvel hits as the Uncanny X-Men, the Invincible Iron Man, the Immortal Iron Fist, Punisher: War Journal, as well as the creator-owned properties Casanova and Five Fists of Science!  Join Metro Entertainment on October 18th at 12pm for this FREE autograph signing event!

Certainly, Matt Fraction needs no introduction here, but the store has been working hard to get the word out on one of Marvel’s hottest writers.  One lucky employee (who shall go nameless) sent in some questions to Mr. Fraction on behalf of the store; please see this exclusive Q&A here.

Metro Entertainment is a locally owned and operated Comic Book and Games Shop located in downtown Santa Barbara, CA.  For more information on this event, please see the store website at http://www.metro-entertainment.com or call (805) 963-2168.

• Westfield Comics in Madison, Wis., is using IDW’s Presidential Material to divine the outcome of the election. Well, sort of. The retailer is keeping a tally of which candidate biography sells more: John McCain’s or Barack Obama’s. Heck, it’s probably as accurate as some of the polls. [The Isthmus]

• The spotlight is on Dark Horse CEO Mike Richardson today as he’s interviewed about donating copies of all of his company’s books to Portland State University, and about the state of the industry. [The Oregonian, ICv2.com]

• In her “All the Comics in the World” column, Shaenon K. Garrity ropes in a panel to decide which American cartoonists draw attractive men. Finder creator Carla Speed McNeil gets the most mentions. [ComiXology]

• Rapper Percy Carey, writer of the Vertigo graphic novel Sentences: The Life of MF Grimm, chats with comics blogger and analyst John Mayo. [Complex.com]

• A new graphic novel focuses on little-known Confederate general Patrick Cleburne. “He is the perfect vehicle to tell a story from the Confederate point of view,” says creator Justin Murphy. [Trumann, Ark., Democrat]

• Penny Arcade co-creator Mike Krahulik talks about the Penny Arcade Adventures video games. [GamePro Arcade]

Kat from Surabaya shares a short comic about 24 Hour Comics Day. The event is scheduled for this weekend; check out their official website to find a store near you that’s participating.

With slightly more than two weeks to go, publishers are ramping up their Halloween-themed releases, from superheroes battling the supernatural to a boy dreaming of becoming a vampire.

Shadowline kicks off its Silverline all-ages imprint with Dear Dracula just as The Hulk slugs it out with Frankenstein’s monster, and Superman and Batman team up to tackle vampires and werewolves. Plus, there’s a Hack/Slash special, and another installment of Ben Templesmith’s Welcome to Hoxford.

If pre-Halloween chills aren’t for you, there’s always the second issue of Final Crisis: Legion of Three Worlds, Art Spiegelman’s Breakdowns, or the third issue of Jeff Smith’s Rasl.

To see what other titles Chris Mautner and I think are worth mentioning, just keep reading. As always, let us know your choices in the comments below.

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As Americans brace themselves for tonight’s presidential debate, it’s fitting that tomorrow marks the release of IDW Publishing’s heavily promoted biographies of Sens. John McCain and Barack Obama.

In a similar vein, Wednesday also will see After 9/11: America’s War on Terror, Sid Jacobson and Ernie Colon’s follow-up to their celebrated adaptation of the 9/11 Report.

But if politics and war — and the politics of war — aren’t your bag, you’ll also find the first issue of the new Marvel Zombies miniseries, the third installment of Grady Klein’s The Lost Colony series, oversized editions of Hellboy and I Luv Halloween, and an Owly collection. Those are just for starters, though.

To see what other titles Chris Mautner and I think are worth mentioning, just keep reading. As always, let us know your choices in the comments below.

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If you weren’t already anxious about the state of the U.S. economy, this news should do wonders for you: Some troubled stock-market investors reportedly are sinking their money into vintage comic books.

No, I’m serious.

If the early ’90s taught us anything, it’s that they’d probably be better off stuffing their cash in a mattress. However, The Wall Street Journal quotes a Kentucky retailer as saying “There’s kind of a buying frenzy” in Silver Age comics.

As evidence, The Journal points to the “Silver Age Comic Book Pricing Index” — I’m a reader, not a collector, but I didn’t realize there was such a thing — which seems to indicate that while Standard & Poor’s 500 stock index is down, the buying and selling of ’60s comics is up.

Likewise, according to Conde Nast’s Portfolio.com, the market for original comic-book art is booming — in Europe, at any rate. That’s thanks, in large part, to the weak American dollar.

Writer Joseph V. Tirella points out that a European collector can snag Jack Kirby and Joe Sinnott’s cover art for Fantastic Four #171 from the website of New York dealer Albert Moy for €23,809 ($32,095). An American buyer would have to pay $35,000.

Related: Portfolio.com’s slideshow of original comic art

A Michigan judge on Friday ruled the Macomb County prosecutor’s office won’t be disqualified from the retrial of Michael George, the retailer and convention organizer convincted in March of killing his first wife  Barbara in 1990.

Circuit Court Judge James Biernat also issued a gag order to to prevent attorneys from discussing the case outside of the courtroom.

On Sept. 12 Biernat overturned George’s jury conviction, citing prosecutorial misconduct and the release of new evidence that could lead the jury to believe another person was responsible for the murder of Barbara George. The misconduct was related to the assistant prosecutor’s use of Michael George’s mug shot during closing arguments.

Defense attorneys had petitioned Biernat to disqualify Prosecutor Eric Smith and his office from the case.

Last week prosecutors filed a request for appeal of Biernat’s decision with the Michigan Court of Appeals.

Barbara George was shot in the head on July 13, 1990, in the Georges’ Clinton Township comic-book store. Prosecutors contended that Michael George staged the killing to look like a robbery so he could collect money from an insurance policy and a shared estate, and start over with another woman.

Michael George remains in Macomb County Jail awaiting his new trial, which had been set to begin on Dec. 2.

Yesterday Kevin linked to a story in the Examiner that listed what they considered the five best comic book shops in Los Angeles. Kevin wondered how they could overlook Secret Headquarters, one of the coolest shops anywhere.

As if on cue, The L.A. Weekly publishes a feature story on the best comic shops in L.A. — and while they only list three of them, guess what makes the list? That’s right; Secret Headquarters.

So, if you take the two lists and line them up side by side (or, you know, just take a look at one and then the other), one comic shop appears in both articles — Meltdown Comics and Collectibles. So my question to you, L.A. comic fans — is Meltdown the hottest, or is Secret Headquarters the best kept secret in L.A.? Or does some other shop put them both to shame?

• At UGO.com, Vito Delsante counts down the “Top 50 WTF Moments in Comics,” from the story of Bill Finger to the marriage of Aunt May and Dr. Octopus to the Batman back-breaking stunt. Don’t worry, there are some good WTF moments, too.

• The recently launched all-ages blog Good Comics for Kids has found a new home on the School Library Journal’s website. I’ll miss Dan Hess’ banner, but I love his chibi renditions of the blog’s contributors.

• Cartoonist Sergio Aragones talks about becoming one of Mad’s legendary Usual Gang of Idiots: “I had just arrived [in New York] from Mexico in 1962. And every magazine I went to, everybody rejected me because I had been doing pantomime cartoons. Everybody said, “These things are crazy, you should go to Mad.” So I went to Mad. And they were right.”

• Examiner.com spotlights the best comic shops in Los Angeles, but somehow overlooks Secret Headquarters.

• Hellboy creator Mike Mignola explains to Williamette Week why he left Portland, Ore., for New York City: “My wife hated it! She hated almost every second of living there. I loved it. It is a little rainy and dreary.”

As we skid into October, I find myself having a bit of an off week, at least comics-wise. I just don’t see much that catches my eye.

Chris Mautner, on the other hand, has spied a veritable treasure trove, from a Baby Huey collection to Batman #680 a Complete Peanuts box set.

So, maybe it’s just me.

Wednesday also sees the Dark Tower: The Long Road Home hardcover, the debut of Steve Niles’ future-noir City of Dust, and a one-shot dedicated Bruce Campbell’s My Name Is Bruce movie.

To see what other titles Chris and I think are worth mentioning, just keep reading. As always, let us know your choices in the comments below.

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DC Comics has confirmed a report that it will shut down its Minx imprint of graphic novels aimed at teen girls in January.

“Minx was an experimental imprint for DC Comics and we are extremely proud of the books we published and the stories we told during the past two years,” the publisher said in a statement released this morning. “We thank all of the writers and artists who lent their talents to our endeavor and especially thank readers who came along for the ride. DC Comics remains committed to publishing diverse material for diverse audiences as we continue to welcome new readers.”

According to Comic Book Resources, some solicited and otherwise approved books will be published, while others won’t — at least not as part of the imprint.

Announced in November 2007 and launched the following spring with much fanfare and an impressive — by comic-book standards, at least — marketing budget, Minx targeted the growing young-adult demographic in the book market.

Headed by Vertigo’s Shelly Bond and Karen Berger, the line debuted with The PLAIN Janes, by popular YA novelist Cecil Castellucci and Street Angel artist Jim Rugg. They also recruited the likes of Andi Watson, Derek Kirk Kim, Rebecca Donner, Brian Wood, Aaron Alexovich, Alisa Kwitney, Ross Campbell and Mike Carey.

Despite the $250,000 marketing budget, assistance from Alloy Marketing + Media — the company that promoted The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants and Gossip Girl – mainstream-media coverage, and a mix of talent familiar to readers in both the comics and the YA book markets, Minx didn’t seem to find its audience. (That, of course, is a familiar refrain.) CBR reports that Random House, DC’s book-trade distributor, apparently hasn’t been able to place the Minx books in the YA sections of chain stores, which would seem essential when marketing a graphic novels written by the authors of The Queen of Cool and Boy Proof and Flirting in Cars.

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