Last Reminder: Book Launch Tonight
Makeshift Miracle and Ragmop get their official debut
http://www.torontocomics.com

I just wanted to put out one last reminder about the book launch tonight. I'm pretty excited about it as I think both books are strong. Ragmop is a long-time favourite. When I was just in that phase between reading superhero comics and discovering Vertigo, truly 'independent' titles like Thieves & Kings and Walton's Ragmop really helped to broaden my tastes (and made me an ardent supporter of creator rights and ownership...). I'm really thrilled to see it completed, and in such a great package too.

Meanwhile, Jim Zubkavich is a friend of mine and I really, really hounded him to get Makeshift Miracle into print. It was originally an online comic, serialized on his own site, then at Modern Tales, then... well, he ended up at BitPass. But now you can read the whole thing for free at his website, http://www.makeshiftmiracle.com/. I'm really proud of him and the book, and it printed beautifully. I now completely understand why publishers print overseas, and I now completely understand that it doesn't take 6 months to receive the books either... :P

Anyhow, I think it'll be a fun, low-key night filled with lots of Gin & Tonics. If you're in the neighborhood, come on out.

- Chris
PS: TOMORROW: It's gonna be an art day, I think. We've just added a ton of stuff to The Beguiling art store, and I wanna show off some of the pieces. How does a cool piece of art every hour sound?

Shipping Wednesday, November 29th
List courtesy of The Beguiling
http://www.beguiling.com

Here's what's coming in this week! GOOD BOOKS! I mean, the new Acme Novelty Library alone will make everyone experience a $17 week... Right? Right? Batman/Spirit? Ragmop? No? I mean there's BARELY a Civil War book out this week people, what does it take for you to buy a good book?

--

SEP060215 52 WEEK #30 2.50

AUG063267 ACME NOVELTY LIBRARY VOL 17 HC (MR) 16.95
I honestly thought this had already been released? Anyway, it's GORGEOUS, like you would expect.

OCT063401 ACTION PHILOSOPHERS VOL 1 GIANT SIZED THING TP (O/ 6.95
SEP060308 AMERICAN VIRGIN #9 (MR) 2.99
SEP063388 ANGEL SCRIPTBOOK VOL 1 TP 19.99
AUG060190 AQUAMAN SWORD OF ATLANTIS #46 2.99
JUL063060 ARMY OF DARKNESS #12 2.99
MAR061821 ART OF BRIAN BOLLAND HC 49.99
SEP062179 AVENGERS GALACTIC STORM VOL 2 TP 29.99
SEP062089 AVENGERS NEXT #2 (OF 5) 2.99
SEP060191 BATMAN #659 2.99

SEP060190 BATMAN THE SPIRIT 4.99
It's Darwyn Cooke, J. Bone, Batman, and The Spirit! There's no better use of $5 on this list.

SEP063566 BECAUSE IM THE GODDESS VOL 2 GN (OF 3) (MR) 9.99
SEP063593 BECK MONGOLIAN CHOP SQUAD VOL 6 GN (OF 19) (MR) 9.99
OCT063901 BETTIE PAGE BY OLIVIA SGN HC (MR) (C: 0-1-2) 75.00
SEP063567 BIRD KISS VOL 2 GN (OF 2) 9.99
SEP062097 BLACK PANTHER #22 CW 2.99
SEP068131 BLACK PANTHER 2ND PTG VAR #21 CW 2.99
SEP063598 BLAZIN BARRELS VOL 7 GN (OF 18) 9.99
SEP062100 CAPTAIN AMERICA #24 CW 2.99
SEP063296 CASTLE WAITING VOL II #3 3.95
OCT063910 CBG 2007 COMIC BOOK CHECKLIST & PRICE GUIDE 13TH E 19.99
OCT063808 COMIC BOOK ARTIST #11 (O/A) 6.95
AUG063292 COMICS JOURNAL #279 9.95
SEP060013 CONAN & THE SONGS OF THE DEAD #5 (OF 5) 2.99
SEP060304 CROSSING MIDNIGHT #1 (MR) 2.99
AUG063375 CSI DYING IN THE GUTTERS #3 3.99
JUL060027 DARK HORSE BOOK OF MONSTERS HC (C: 0-1-2) 15.95
AUG063116 DEAD SONJA SHE ZOMBIE WITH A SWORD #1 (MR) 3.99
AUG063117 DEAD SONJA SHE ZOMBIE WITH A SWORD ZOMBIE BLOODBAT 3.99
SEP060284 DEATHBLOW #2 (MR) 2.99
SEP060285 DEATHBLOW VAR EDITION #2 (MR) 2.99
SEP052914 DF GEORGE PEREZ STORYTELLER FIRST 30 YEARS HC (C: 29.99
SEP063312 DONALD DUCK ADVENTURES VOL 21 TP 7.95
SEP063452 DONE TO DEATH #5 (MR) 3.50
JUL063509 DUMMYS GUIDE TO DANGER #3 (OF 4) (MR) (C: 0-1-2) 3.25
SEP063204 ELVIRA #163 2.50
OCT060028 EMILY THE STRANGE VOL 1 TP (C: 0-1-2) 19.95
SEP061814 EMISSARY #6 (MR) 3.50
AUG060244 EMPTY EMPIRE VOL 2 (C: 1-0-0) 9.99
SEP063246 ES VOL 3 GN (MR) 10.95
SEP062186 ESSENTIAL MAN-THING VOL 1 TP 16.99
AUG060269 EX MACHINA VOL 4 MARCH TO WAR TP (MR) 12.99
SEP063341 FLARE ADVENTURES #18 3.25
SEP060223 FLASH THE FASTEST MAN ALIVE #6 2.99
SEP062083 FRIENDLY NEIGHBORHOOD SPIDER-MAN #14 2.99
SEP063568 GENJU NO SEIZA VOL 2 GN (OF 13) (MR) 9.99
SEP063609 GERARD & JACQUES VOL 2 GN (OF 2) (MR) 9.99
SEP060030 GHOST IN THE SHELL 1.5 HUMAN ERROR PROCESSOR #2 (O 2.99

OCT063960 GIRL TO GRRRL MANGA HOW TO DRAW HOTTEST SHOUJO MAN 19.99
I'm really, really curious to see this one. It's Colleen Doran's How To Draw for girls.

SEP063591 GIRLS BRAVO VOL 6 GN (OF 10) (MR) 9.99
AUG060036 GOON WICKED INCLINATIONS VOL 5 TPB (MR) (C: 0-1-2) 14.95
AUG060201 GREEN LANTERN #15 2.99
AUG060202 GREEN LANTERN REVENGE OF THE GREEN LANTERNS HC 19.99
SEP063678 GRIMM FAIRY TALES 2007 CALENDAR 12.99
SEP063247 GUNDAM SEED DESTINY VOL 2 GN 10.95
SEP060228 GUY GARDNER COLLATERAL DAMAGE #1 (OF 2) 5.99

SEP062117 IMMORTAL IRON FIST #1 2.99
Both Casanova and Punisher War Journal last week were really solid (though completely different) books. Congrats on a good week Matt Fraction, it's too bad all three of your books couldn't have shipped at the same time for a Threefer! Maybe next month?

SEP060231 ION #8 (OF 12) 2.99

SEP063265 J BOY GN 16.95
This is a yaoi anthology magazine in 'graphic novel' format. From DMP. I'm curious about this one too.

OCT063978 JAPANAMERICA HOW JAPANESE POP CULTURE HAS INVADED 24.95
JUN062843 KILLBOX PKT MANGA VOL 1 GN 14.95
SEP061796 LAST CHRISTMAS TP (MR) 14.99
SEP063570 LAYA THE WITCH OF RED POOH VOL 2 GN (OF 2) 9.99
JUL063189 LIBERTY GIRL #2 3.25
SEP063603 LIFE VOL 3 GN (OF 9) (MR) 9.99
SEP060316 LOVELESS #13 (MR) 2.99
SEP063571 MAIL ORDER NINJA VOL 2 GN (OF 3) 5.99
SEP062170 MARVEL ADVENTURES FF VOL 4 COSMIC THREATS DIGEST T 6.99
SEP062165 MARVEL MASTERWORKS MIGHTY THOR VOL 5 HC VAR ED 69 54.99
SEP062164 MARVEL MASTERWORKS MIGHTY THOR VOL 5 NEW ED HC 49.99
SEP062128 MARVEL MILESTONES ONSLAUGHT 3.99
SEP063314 MICKEY MOUSE & BLOTMAN BLOTMAN RETURNS 5.99
SEP063195 MILTON CANIFFS STEVE CANYON 1953 TP (JUN068131) 17.95
AUG061771 NEGATIVE BURN #6 (MR) 5.99
SEP063248 NEGIMA VOL 12 GN (MR) 10.95
SEP062119 NEXTWAVE AGENTS OF HATE #10 2.99
SEP061797 NOBLE CAUSES VOL 6 HIDDEN AGENDAS TP 15.99
SEP063559 NOSATSU JUNKIE VOL 1 GN (OF 4) 9.99
MAR060026 OH MY GODDESS VOL 3 RTL TP (C: 1-1-2) 10.95
SEP062129 ONSLAUGHT REBORN #1 (OF 5) 2.99
SEP068020 ONSLAUGHT REBORN LIEFIELD SKETCH VAR LIMIT 5 #1 (O 2.99
JUL062012 POWERS #21 (MR) 2.95
SEP063601 PRICELESS VOL 3 GN (OF 3) 9.99
SEP068062 PUNISHER #41 (MR) 2.99
SEP062183 PUNISHER MAX VOL 6 BARRACUDA TP (MR) 15.99
SEP062130 PUNISHER XMAS SPECIAL 3.99

AUG063113 RAGMOP TP 29.95
HEY! The conclusion to Rob Walton's RAGMOP finally ships this week. I've got a copy of this one (the perks of throwing a release party this week) and it printed great. It's got the whole story, plus all of the Adam Smith Capitalism strips, and all of the back-up stuff too. RAGMOP is a bit like The Invisibles by Chuck Jones. But crazier? Anyway. I'm a big fan, and highly recommend it. If your shop has one in stock Wednesday, buy it. If not? Come on out to the Launch! Thursday! Etc.!

SEP063604 REBOUND VOL 16 GN (OF 18) 9.99
JUL060188 RUSH CITY #3 (OF 6) 2.99
AUG061777 SAVAGE DRAGON #130 2.99
JUN061723 SEA OF RED #13 (MR) 3.50
SEP063399 SENCILLA FINALE SC (MR) 50.00
SEP062084 SENSATIONAL SPIDER-MAN #32 2.99
SEP063634 SHONEN JUMP JAN 07 #49 (C: 1-0-0) 4.99
SEP063561 SOMEDAYS DREAMERS SPELLBOUND VOL 1 GN (OF 4) 9.99
SEP063081 SONIC THE HEDGEHOG #169 2.25
SEP063564 SOUL RESCUE VOL 1 GN (OF 2) 9.99
SEP063400 SPARROW PHIL HALE 11.99
JUL061715 SPAWN #162 2.95
SEP062087 SPIDER-MAN FAMILY FEATURING SPIDER CLAN 4.99
AUG062070 STAN LEE MEETS DR DOOM 3.99
SEP060041 STAR WARS LEGACY #6 (C: 1-0-0) 2.99
AUG063429 STARSHIP TROOPERS DEAD MANS HAND CVR A #4 (OF 4) ( 3.50
AUG063430 STARSHIP TROOPERS DEAD MANS HAND CVR B #4 (OF 4) ( 3.50
AUG063431 STARSHIP TROOPERS DEAD MANS HAND CVR C #4 (OF 4) ( 3.50
JUL063420 STEAM PARK GN (C: 0-1-2) 16.95
SEP063596 SUIKODEN III VOL 11 GN (OF 11) (MR) 9.99
JUL060149 SUPERMAN BATMAN #30 2.99
SEP063676 SURGE VOL 1 GN 12.95
SEP063249 SUZUKA VOL 2 GN (MR) 13.95
AUG063139 TALENT #4 (OF 4) 3.99
SEP063180 TAROT WITCH OF THE BLACK ROSE #41 (MR) 2.95
SEP060256 TEEN TITANS #41 2.99
SEP060259 TEEN TITANS GO #37 2.25
SEP063368 TRANSFORMERS ESCALATION #1 3.99
SEP063380 TRANSFORMERS INFILITRATION MANGA VOL 1 TP 10.99
SEP061831 TRUE STORY SWEAR TO GOD IMAGE ED #2 2.99
SEP063605 TSUKUYOMI MOON PHASE VOL 5 GN (OF 8) 9.99
SEP062076 ULTIMATE POWER #2 (OF 9) 2.99
SEP062079 ULTIMATE VISION #0 2.99
SEP063337 ULYSSES HC (MR) 14.95
AUG060048 VAMPIRE HUNTER D VOL 6 PILGRIMAGE O/T SACRED & PRO 8.95
SEP063599 VAN VON HUNTER VOL 3 GN (OF 3) 9.99
SEP063351 VATICAN CITY LAS VEGAS GN (MR) 14.95
SEP063087 VERONICA #176 2.25
SEP063318 WALT DISNEYS CHRISTMAS PARADE #4 8.95
SEP060255 WARLORD #10 2.99
SEP060288 WETWORKS #3 2.99
SEP060289 WETWORKS VAR ED #3 2.99
SEP062138 WHAT IF WOLVERINE ENEMY OF THE STATE 2.99
JUN062973 WHISPER #1 3.99
SEP062151 X-MEN #193 2.99
SEP062140 YOUNG GUNS RELOADED SKETCHBOOK 3.99
SEP063600 YUBISAKI MILK TEA VOL 3 GN (OF 6) (MR) 9.99
SEP062156 ZOMBIE #3 (OF 4) (MR) 3.99

AUG063380 ZOMBIES VS ROBOTS #1 (OF 2) 3.99
HOLY SHIT FINALLY SOMETHING TO STOP THE ZOMBIES!

--

It's DC Comics... For Girls!
Breaking the ground already broken: DC STYLE!
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/25/arts/design/25minx.html?_r=2&oref=slogin&oref=slogin
Edited to include the full creative teams in the launh line-up.

I've got a very funny story about DC's Minx, a girl-centric young adult graphic novel line, but it's not mine to tell. If you ever see me in person though, feel free to ask. Well the New York Times broke the silence on the long, long, long-rumoured line of books today, leading off with a quote from the woman in charge, Karen Berger:

"“It’s time we got teenage girls reading comics,” said Karen Berger, a senior vice president at DC Comics. And DC, the comics powerhouse best known as home to Superman and Batman, has a program to make that happen." - From the New York Times Article

Because if DC didn't get girls reading comics, who would?

The article does address the popularity of manga, and even in a way the failed launch of the CMX imprint, which is very interesting. It mentions that the new Minx line will be launched with actual money and a Marketting firm, unlike CMX, where "The marketing then was similar to that used for DC’s other titles." Heh. More and more, CMX just feels like it was sabotaged on purpose, doesn't it? But I digress.

"With Minx, though, DC has taken what, for it, is the unusual step of seeking outside help. It has joined with Alloy Marketing + Media to promote Minx. ... Alloy Entertainment, a division of the marketing company, has helped to make hits of books like “Gossip Girls” and “The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants.” Alloy was also the so-called book packager behind “How Opal Mehta Got Kissed, Got Wild and Got a Life,” a first novel by a 19-year-old Harvard sophomore named Kaavya Viswanathan that was pulled from stores earlier this year when it was learned that numerous passages had been copied from novels by other writers. "

I dunno about you, but that's not necessarily a fact I want splashed across MY New York Times Puff-Piece.

The article is very interesting in its language (and what is omitted), and is an absolutely rivetting counter-point to Valerie D'Orazio's Occasional Superheroine memoir published about 7 or 8 days ago. Still, the cold-hard facts are what you come here for, so:

• “In terms of consumer marketing, it’s got to be the largest thing we’ve done in at least three decades,” says Paul Levitz. The article says that the company is spending about $125,000 to promote the books, which will only enrage superhero fans at Newsarama CONVINCED that that money would be better spent promoting a girl comic we can all get behind, like, I dunno, Hawkgirl or something.
• EDIT: According to Shannon Garrity at Andi Watson's livejournal, the announced books are: Clubbing, by Andi Watson and Josh Howard; Re-Gifters, by Mike Carey, Marc Hempel, and Sonny Liew; Good as Lily, by Derek Kirk Kim and Jesse Hamm; The P.L.A.I.N. Janes, by Cecil Castellucci and Jim Rugg. All of the books sound pretty good, actually. Strange that there's one female creator in the group.
• The books are all going to retail for less than $10, and be about 150 pages or so.
• It looks like they'll be black-and white and likely manga/digest format. (This is interesting, because I've seen a full-colour sequence from Derek Kirk Kim and Jesse Hamm's book...).
• The books will be launched as part of a large online lifestyle network, similar to what Tokyopop is trying to do.
• Johanna gets quoted, AND gets a link to her blog! Nice!
• Jim Rugg gets quoted, and comes off like the thoughtful and intelligent guy he is. His excellent series Street Angel also gets a nod. Nice!

All in all, I'll be VERY interested to see what these books are like. I really hope we are getting more salable, appropriate graphic novels that we can recommend to teen girls and especially to libraries, but at the same time the teen girls and libraries are REALLY HAPPY with manga right now, so who knows? I'd like to wish the best of luck to all of the authors involved, and despite everything I'm happy to see DC Comics using their position within the publishing industry take some initiative and get behind their books... even if they needed to start a new line of books to do so!

- Christopher
(Get over to the article soon, before it goes up behind the firewall.)

Honouring Usagi Yojimbo
A 100th Issue Celebration I'd Like To See
http://www.darkhorse.com

I just finished our PREVIEWS order for the month, which always tends to put me in a worse mood than I should be in. Posting now is probably ill-advised. However.

Dark Horse gave Stan Sakai's Usagi Yojimbo the back cover of PREVIEWS in honour of its 100th issue at DH! It's going to have an oversized tribute issue featuring stars like Frank Miller and Sergio Aragones! Cardstock wrap-around cover! Whoo! But you know what would be a fitting tribute?

If Dark Horse had more than four volumes of his series in print. Seriously. If you want anything other than Usagi Yojimbo Volume 10, 13, 15, or 20? You're SOL. That's four volumes out of 14 that they've published. Happy Anniversary, Usagi! We're letting your books languish out of print!

Oh, and as a point of comparisson? All seven volumes of the Fantagraphics Usagi books are in stock and available from Fantagraphics, and at better comic stores everywhere. (Usagi 1-7 are published by Fanta, and 8-20 + 'Space Usagi' were published by Dark Horse).

Depressing. I hope Stan Sakai is shopping his samurai bunny around. Maybe Scholastic can do a Bone on it or something.

- Christopher

My 15 year-old self had questionable taste
A little bit of levity
http://joglikescomics.blogspot.com/2006/11/fat.html

A comment at Jog's blog reminded me that I absolutely loved this cover when I was 15. I had never bought an issue of The Punisher (and really haven't since, save a few issues of Ennis' run), but this cover seemingly had everything. It was die-cut! Wrap-around! It had dones of bullet casings everywhere! A screaming dude looking right at you! Shooting RIGHT AT YOU! FIRST ISSUE! Yeah. In retrospect I feel kind of stupid, but it helps me keep some perspective when I look at how many fucking terrible comics are on the racks now, you know? Maybe Greg Fucking Land means just as much to some 15 year old as that JRJR cover did to me? I mean, I really hope not, because I'm looking at that cover and it still holds-up alright, and Greg Land's stuff is going to look like that shitty first-generation CGI in about 4 or 5 years when people get really good at tracing photographs... hmm, I've digressed again. Anyway.

- Christopher

Good-bye to Comics
A former Big-Two staffer posts her memoirs.
http://occasionalsuperheroine.blogspot.com/2006_11_01_occasionalsuperheroine_archive.html

The last time I talked about the despicable treatment of women in the comics industry was earlier this year, regarding sexual assault at the Mid-Ohio Comic Con. I got a press release Thursday about Mid-Ohio's plans for their next show and immediately flashed on the event. What a shitty mnemonic that must be for the organisers, eh? Though that was also the day that the latest bombshell about sexual politics in the comics industry was dropped, Good-Bye to Comics, "a “theoretical” memoir of what *might* have happened in the life of a woman in the field and fandom of comics." Writer of the "Occasional Superheroine" blog 'Video Store Girl" has wiped away all of her previous writing about the comics industry and instead posted a little over 20 entries that do everything but name-the-names in her memoir about being an editor in comics. Theoretically. Maybe.

I've read the whole thing and it's harrowing; it's a bit like a Margaret Cho-style screed but without the distance and pollish that turns a truly horrible event into something empowering. It's funny, but the kind of funny where you're looking around nervously to make sure everyone else is laughing too. I mean, the entry headers have titles like "The Broken Vagina Monologues," about a torn cervix. It's the blackest of black comedies. Unsettling.

All the more interesting for the fact that the writer was castigated a few months back by female comics bloggers for "actively belittling what feminists are actually fighting for" in regards to the comics industry, and even defending sexism (to paraphrase). In short, there are an awful lot of layers to this story that are going to get peeled back over the next few weeks. The names will come out. I'm sure Rich Johnston will pipe up with something, particularly as "Gilgongo! Comics" isn't publishing anything of his right now. But nothing will, for me anyway, take away from the power of what's been written. I sincerely hope her writing does make it into a book, a sort of 'Devil Wears Prada' for the comics industry. Lord knows we could use one.

Head over to http://occasionalsuperheroine.blogspot.com/2006_11_01_occasionalsuperheroine_archive.html and start at the bottom entry, reading upwards. Make up your own mind.

- Christopher

Shipping November 22nd, 2006
List courtesy of The Beguiling
http://www.beguiling.com

The following books are currently scheduled to ship to The Beguiling in Toronto, Canada on Wednesday. Sometimes that means you won't get them in your store, and sometimes that means WE won't get them as PATH OF THE ASSASSIN VOL 3 mysteriously just didn't show up this week and it was 'confirmed'. I dunno. It's a bit of a crap-shoot.

Good week for comics, with three new books from Drawn & Quarterly (Moomin volume 1, Gabrielle Bell's very enjoyable Lucky HC, and Don't Go Where I Can't Follow, which I can't even open) and a couple of highly-anticipated collections featuring Y The Last Man and Morrison's New X-Men.

Oh, and Matt Fraction has two books out on the same day! Casanova #6 and Punisher War Journal #1. Comparing and contrasting both of them should be a lot of fun...

SEP063067 100 GIRLS VOL 2 TP (RES) 9.95
SEP063363 24 NIGHTFALL #1 (OF 6) 3.99
SEP060214 52 WEEK #29 2.50
SEP060202 ACTION COMICS #845 2.99
JUN063594 ALBERTO VARGAS WORKS FROM THE MAX VARGAS COLLECTIO 45.00
OCT063271 ALEX RAYMONDS FLASH GORDON VOL 6 HC 19.95
SEP062091 ALL NEW OFF HANDBOOK MARVEL UNIVERSE A TO Z #11 3.99
JUL061941 AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #536 CW 2.99
SEP063389 ANGEL AULD LANG SYNE #1 3.99
SEP063294 ANGRY YOUTH COMIX #12 (MR) 3.50
SEP063072 ARCHIE & FRIENDS #105 2.25
MAR063127 ARMY OF DARKNESS COLL HC 24.95
JUL063063 ARMY OF DARKNESS VOL 4 OLD SCHOOL TP 14.99
SEP062096 AVENGERS EARTHS MIGHTIEST HEROES II #2 (OF 8) 3.99
AUG060177 BATMAN DARK KNIGHT ARCHIVES VOL 5 HC 49.99
SEP063774 BETTIE PAGE BY OLIVIA HC (MR) (C: 0-1-2) 29.99
SEP063162 BIG BANG COMICS PRESENTS PROTOPLASMAN #3 3.95
AUG063269 BIG QUESTIONS #9 (MR) 6.95
AUG063290 BLAB VOL 17 GN 19.95
AUG063257 BLOODRAYNE PLAGUE OF DREAMS CVR A #2 (OF 3) 3.99
SEP060219 BLUE BEETLE #9 2.99
SEP060293 BOYS #5 (MR) 2.99
SEP062177 CAPTAIN AMERICA RED MENACE VOL 2 TP 10.99
SEP060263 CARTOON NETWORK BLOCK PARTY #27 2.25
SEP061810 CASANOVA #6 (MR) 1.99
JUL061957 CIVIL WAR FRONT LINE #8 (OF 11) 2.99
AUG063199 CLASSIC BATTLESTAR GALACTICA #2 3.50
AUG063200 CLASSIC BATTLESTAR GALACTICA VIRGIN CVR INCV #2 3.50
JUN063104 COMICS JOURNAL LIBRARY VOL 7 HARVEY KURTZMAN TP 19.95
SEP060012 CONAN #34 (MR) 2.99
SEP060229 CONNOR HAWKE DRAGONS BLOOD #1 (OF 6) 2.99
SEP060222 CREEPER #4 (OF 6) 2.99
JUL068354 DAILY BUGLE DECEMBER NEWSPAPER (BUNDLE OF 50) (NET PI
MAY062901 DAMAGED #1 2.99
SEP062104 DAREDEVIL #91 2.99
JUL063508 DEAD AT 17 VOL 2 #2 (MR) (C: 0-1-2) 3.25
MAY063368 DEVILS PANTIES #6 4.95
JUL063106 DONT GO WHERE I CANT FOLLOW GN (MR) 17.95
SEP063257 DRAGONLANCE CHRONICLES VOL 2 KURTH CVR A #3 (OF 4) 4.95
SEP061786 DRAIN #1 (MR) 2.99
SEP060023 DWIGHT T ALBATROSS THE GOON NOIR #2 (OF 3) 2.99
SEP061813 ELEPHANTMEN #0 2.99
JUN062976 ENIGMA CIPHER #1 (OF 2) (C: 1-0-0) 6.99
SEP061872 ERIC BASALDUA SKETCHBOOK 2.99
SEP062185 ESSENTIAL CAPTAIN AMERICA VOL 3 TP 16.99
SEP062143 EXILES #88 2.99
SEP062111 FANTASTIC FOUR THE END #2 (OF 6) 2.99
MAY062891 FATHOM #11 2.99
JUL063373 FURRLOUGH #164 3.50
SEP063167 FUTURAMA COMICS #28 2.99
AUG060246 GALS VOL 8 (C: 1-0-0) 9.99
SEP062991 GIRL GENIUS OMNIBUS ED #1 14.95
SEP061817 GODLAND #14 2.99
JUL062860 GOLD DIGGER MAX PKT MANGA VOL 1 14.95
FEB060081 GUNGRAVE ARCHIVE ARTBOOK TP (C: 1-1-2) 19.95
SEP063299 HANK KETCHAMS COMPLETE DENNIS THE MENACE 1955-1956 24.95
AUG062944 HAUNTED MANSION #5 2.95
SEP060232 HAWKGIRL #58 2.99
SEP062155 HELLSTORM SON OF SATAN #2 (OF 5) (MR) 3.99
SEP062116 HEROES FOR HIRE #4 2.99
SEP062174 HEROES REBORN CAPTAIN AMERICA TP 29.99
SEP063345 HOT MEXICAN LOVE COMICS 2006 (MR) 5.00
SEP061820 IMPALER #2 (OF 4) (MR) 2.99
AUG063263 IRON WOK JAN GN #21 9.95
SEP060314 JACK OF FABLES #5 (MR) 2.99
SEP063629 JOHN WOOS SEVEN BROTHERS #2 2.99
SEP060234 JSA CLASSIFIED #19 2.99
AUG060212 JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA VAR ED #3 2.99
SEP063710 JUXTAPOZ DEC 2006 VOL 14 #12 (C: 0-1-2) 4.99
AUG063264 KEY PRINCESS STORY ETERNAL ALICE RONDO VOL 1 NOVEL 9.95
SEP061818 LOOKING GLASS WARS HATTER M #4 (OF 4) 3.99
SEP063278 LUCKY HC (MR) (C: 1-0-0) 19.95
SEP063192 MAMMOTH BOOK OF BEST NEW MANGA (MR) (C: 0-1-2) 13.95
SEP060295 MAN CALLED KEV #4 (OF 5) (MR) 2.99
SEP062169 MARVEL HOLIDAY DIGEST TP 7.99
SEP062077 MARVEL SPOTLIGHT BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS MARK BAGLEY 2.99
MAY063047 MONSTER WAR TP (C: 0-1-1) 14.99
AUG063270 MOOMIN COMPLETE TOVE JANNSON COMIC STRIP VOL 1 HC 19.95
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Melinda Gebbie Interviewed about Lost Girls
...and it's a Video Interview!
http://www.spacecast.com/hypaspace.aspx

SPACE (Canada's answer to the Sci-Fi network for all of you Americans) is is running a nice little interview with Melinda Gebbie about Lost Girls at their website. It's one of their 'Hypa-Space' segments, and you can view it by going to http://www.spacecast.com/hypaspace.aspx and then clicking on the link in the right-hand list of interview content. The piece is running this week in celebration of Lost Girls being cleared by Canadian Customs.

Oh, and we've got 30 copies in stock at The Beguiling right now, first-come, first-served.

- Chris

Story Structure and Publisher Demands
Or: "The failure of imagination."
http://queeniechan.livejournal.com/28384.html

OEL Manga creator Queenie Chan has posted an absolutely fascinating document at her blog, a long essay about the challenges she faced in structuring and pacing the plot of her story “The Dreaming”, published as three volumes from Tokyopop.

"The Dreaming" was originally conceived as a single story, using the Three-Act structure. However, because of the 3-book format, I had to do this to it:
a) Break this SINGLE story in THREE EQUALLY-LONG PARTS
b) Make each part RELATIVELY SELF-CONTAINED
c) Make each part have its own NARRATIVE ARC (ie. build-up, climax, resolution)
d) Make ALL THREE PARTS be in chronological order
e) Make ALL THREE PARTS fit into a SINGLE OVER-ARCHING NARRATIVE
f) Bonus challenge: This is a mystery-horror series "
- Queenie Chan, from her LJ (all quotes by Queenie Chan)

I really liked the creator exploring and explaining where exactly the creative and business decisions meet on these books, as that discussion in general fascinates me. I’m always very conscious in anything I do of who the end-user is, the person who reads or purchases the work. Apparently that way lies madness, according to many professional writers, but honestly if you’re not writing your work to be seen then why are you using it in a commercial setting? Anyhow. Queenie Chan felt pressured by her story being broken up across three books, when it was meant to be more of a done-in-one type of idea. She then blames the three act structure for shortcomings in these types of narratives:

“From this perspective, it's almost inevitable that "The Dreaming" is structured in a Three-Act Structure. Does that mean that the three-act structure suits the 3-book format? Heck, no. This is because the 3-book format requires each book to be of equal length, which is NOT what you're supposed to do with the three-act structure. The first act, mostly of set-ups and introduction, ought to be shorter than the other two acts, acting as a "hook" to draw the reader in. Over-extend the first act and your readers will start wondering when the plot is going to start. And yet, that's EXACTLY what you have to do for the 3-book format. In other words, anybody who uses the three-act structure in the 3-book format is bound to hit against a similar wall. To be true, nobody complained about that aspect of "The Dreaming" vol1 to my knowledge (except me), but I thought vol 1 was too long, and it's a flaw that I couldn't fix as long as I used the three-act structure.”

And that’s where her essay stopped me dead in my tracks. I’ve re-read her essay a number of times and I can only assume that she’s serious, and that she firmly believes that adhering to a three-act structure actually means that each physical book needs to be an ‘act’ of the story. I can only call this a spectacular failure of imagination on the part of her or her editor. Having an overarching narrative in three acts is fine, but why not, say, have the first act “end” half way through the first book, introductions and premise out of the way, and then start your second act with plenty of action? Why not have your second book recap a brief introduction and then just get progressively crazier, with the climax of your story coming on the last page? Why not have your third volume offer the climax resolution (the end of act two) and then offer the dénouement (act three)? Where’s the rule that says the acts have to rigidly adhere to your publisher’s formatting decisions? Because in any sort of creative writing class I've taken, I have to admit to never encountering that rule. The fact that Queenie Chan, and seemingly other OEL creators have accepted this as gospel truth of pacing is a little upsetting. There are hundreds of multi-book series’ on the racks, manga or otherwise, and none of them that I've encountered follow this model.

“Japanese manga is written in serialised format, something that requires a VASTLY different story structure to the current OEL/global manga books. If "The Dreaming" was written as a serial, it would be completely different, with different pacing, and the order of events shuffled around. When Western fans read Japanese manga, they don't care that each volume isn't self-contained, because they know the original format of the manga was in weekly 20-page bits. The takouban form is just the collected volume of the original format, whereas the OEL/global manga is the other way around. Its original format is in single-book form. People KNOW that. So inevitably when reviewers get their OEL/global manga fix, they don't evaluate it by the same standards as they would Japanese manga.”

I think it’s pretty naïve to assume that manga creators in Japan a) aren’t aware of where the breaks between volumes of manga are going to be, and b) that translated books get a free-ride because they were originally serialised. Starting with that last point first, Japanese manga get hammered in reviews all the time, or simply not talked about at all, when seemingly “nothing happens” in a volume of a popular series. Working in serialisation is far different than doing original book-length work, of course, but the insinuation that Japanese manga is reviewed “differently” in regards to story structure than OEL books is offensive. Speaking as a reviewer, my concern is about how engaging a story is as it’s presented, whether it was originally serialised, or done-in-one, or envisioned as a single story and then brutally segmented by an uncaring publisher. It either works… or it doesn’t. Walking Dead Volume 5 doesn’t work as a collection, it ends in the middle of the story (in a particularly obnoxious way), and that was serialised first. Dramacon 1 and 2 both work splendidly because each story stands on its own, though the ongoing meta-narrative regarding Matt and Christie’s will-they/won’t-they romance continues from volume to volume.

I have no doubt that all of the various OEL titles would read very differently if they were serialised first. That’s still no guarantee of their quality though, or that they’d be reviewed more favourably either.

"...And let's face it. The three-act structure was never meant to be split into three parts. It's called a three-act structure because it's meant to be a SINGLE STORY."

That’s a bit circular, but I do get what she’s saying. The problem is that it’s just completely wrong.

Let’s take something like RANMA 1/2 for a convenient example. The first act of Ranma 1/2 introduces the characters, and ends with the statement of the overall plot: Ranma and Akane have an arranged marriage that neither one of them knew about. This is the very first stand-alone story in RANMA 1/2, and runs for like 50 pages in Volume 1. Then, act two starts. It runs from the second story in Volume 1 until, oh… Volume 34, with plenty of zany hi-jinks, side-stories, and generally entertaining filler building up the characters. Volumes 35 and most of volume 36 are the climax, and then the dénouement is like 30 pages in volume 36. The end.

What I’m saying here is that Queenie Chan'ss ‘single story’, a horror-mystery apparently, could be one volume as she’d wished, or it really could have been stretched out to 36 or more, if necessary. Because act 2, where we find out about the characters and progress towards the end, can go on indefinitely. But saying that you need a whole book to introduce your characters because that’s just the way it goes is… well, I think it’s unnecessary and really baffling.

“…It's not that I or anybody like having long set-ups. It's that the OGN format requires you to deliver your single-story in chunks, and the first chunk almost inevitably ends up being the set-up and introduction. Of course there are exceptions to that problem, but you ought to ask yourself whether the stories being told are the same in structure. It's one thing to break a single story into 3 parts, and another thing entirely to have 3 separate stories that take place chronologically in the same universe.”

And again, I think it’s a failure of imagination to a