Alright, maybe I'm just getting old & cranky...

Everyone's asking me, SO HOW WAS MoCCA and all I can say is; I had a perfectly lovely time. Considering my last trip was just short of orgasmic, I can understand how this disappoints everyone but this trip into Manhattan was significantly different than the last one. Everything was fine, it just wasn't off the rails. This might even be a good thing, I got a lot of sleep and was considerably more pleasant than I've been at a convention for a long time, that's for sure. Everyone I ran into, I smiled and shook hands and put on a nice public face. So, yeah, I had a reasonably professional and lovely time at MoCCA. Ed Mathews was my guide/host and was an absolute gem (as always), my roomates Matt S and MattB were great guys for putting up with me, and if I met you and you're reading this, it was wonderful to see you. A photo-guide to the show is still to come.

...

Alright, even I admit that's a little boring, but I promise to be over-the-top at San Diego, okay?

...

Meanwhile, I TOTALLY FORGOT because of Sean Collins' blog (bad Sean) that there actually WAS a "book of the show" this year! Although it wasn't quite as elaborate as Blankets, the big book worth getting is undoubtedly Sam Hiti's END TIMES/TEMPOS FINALES. Self-published with assistance from the Xeric Foundation, TEMPOS is a quantum leap forward from Sam's last commercially available work and will not be available through comic book retailers for the foreseeable future.

Weighing in at 128 pages, oversized, and printed in a startlingly effective two-tone of very dark blue and dirty orange, Hiti's art leaps off the page. With bits of Paul Pope and Scott Morse showing through, Hiti's work just floored me. When I got a sneak-peak at his work from SamHiti.com last year, he immediately went onto my invite list for TCAF (and having Kagan McLeod vouch for him sealed the deal). While it was really unfortunate that he didn't have TEMPOS ready to debut at my show, it was totally worth the wait as it was one of the nicest packages I picked up this weekend.

The story centers around one of five villages in Mexico that are troubled, posessed, by demons. A mysterious priest is called upon to exorcise one of the demons from the town, and try to bring them some hope. TEMPOS FINALES is a stand-alone tale that's part of a much larger narrative (think of Scott Morse's SOULWIND here), and while we only get glimpses of his characters, Hiti's skillful handling of their personalities and the visual language he uses to portrey them paint instant and immaculate portraits. It's not all soul-searching and talking-heads either, there are a number of brilliant action sequences, time slowed-down and sped-up to remarkable effect to convey a fight between the priest and a demon. More importantly though, and what gives the story a real weight that won't let it be written-off as 'simply an action story' is the mood that Hiti sets with the large, lovely illustrations of the hilly Mexican town. Hiti, through his lead character, really takes his time walking the reader through his fully-realized town just as dusk and evening set in. Shadows drip off of every panel, and while every part of every illustration is both lush AND impressively detailed, it never comes off as cluttered or busy. It's just incredibly well-realized, shockingly so. Considering this is more-or-less Hiti's debut project, it's a truly remarkable accomplishment, one of the most unique and accomplished Xeric books in a long while (and I'd put Derek Kirk Kim's SAME DIFFERENCE in there too, though it and TEMPOS are nothing alike).

Oh, and the best part? It's only 10 bucks.

Seriously. 128 pages, oversized, two-colours, jaw-droppingly gorgeous. 10 bucks. Believe me, you'd pay 20 for it and feel like you got a deal.

And, like I said, through the fall anyway chances are that Hiti will only be selling his book direct to customers at conventions and POSSIBLY via his website. If you want one of these (or are even just curious), snap it up. The 3000-copy initial print run Will Not Last Long.

So yeah, no one was expecting it and I'm not sure how many people found it, buried in the middle of a large section of tables, but Sam Hiti's TEMPOS FINALES was easily the book-of-the-show for me, and anyone else who was lucky enough to stumble across it. If you're really desparate for it and can't get a copy, drop me a line and I'll see what I can do. We bought some direct from Sam to have at the store, but we sold through quite a few today (new comics day!) so I'm not sure how long until we're trying to place a big reorder with him...

- Christopher

Painlumber

"Man you got to understand that Goths reject the normal ideas of society and success

"Their dream job is to like drift around the Paris sewers in a swishy cape while weeping"

*

- Christopher

Start Spreadin' The News

I'm back from New York, and the MoCCA show. Apparently Blogger Sean Colins was there, and has already managed to recount his experiences. I didn't run into him, but then, I was serving in a very different capacity this year as opposed to last. Last year, I was a surrogate Drawn & Quarterly employee and was running their table. It was a fun time, and the nice part is that most of the people that I wanted to see at the show made their way over to the table on their own. This year, D&Q has hired the esteemed Peggy Burns as their PR person and convention coordinator, and she ran a tight ship with long lines whenever their artists were signing (Seth drew the longest lines of the show that I saw) leaving me to just enjoy the show. Make sure to check out their new book, DRAWN & QUARTERLY SHOWCASE VOLUME 2, as it contains a number of excellent new stories.

Sean Collins' observations are generally bang-on; there was no "BREAKOUT BOOK" at this year's event, though the clear favorites were Fantagraphics' JIMBO IN PURGATORI and EIGHTBALL #23, both early sell outs. Their other debut titles also did very well, and I believe by the end of the weekend they had also sold out of the new Jack Cole pin-up collection and the B. KRIGSTEIN COMICS book, a gorgeous oversized collection of Krigstein's comics work, a companion to last year's tribute/history book about the creator. Fantagraphics had a good show, no doubt.

Top Shelf also had a number of debut titles, but Craig Thompson still proved to be the man-of-the-hour at that booth (particularly after his Harvey Awards wins). It was great to meet and chat with Jeffrey Brown (Clumsy, Unlikely), Josh Simmons (Happy, Pussy), and my good friend Jose Villarrubia (Mirror of Love). As always, Chris, Brett, and Robert at Top Shelf were excellent people.

Opinions on the show overall were... mixed... I'm not sure that the two-day show increased anyone's sales or added to the overall cache of the show. Most of the folks I talked to reported decent sales and coming home having broke even, but I remember it being a significantly different story last year where everyone went home having made quite a bit of money (but they were also talking about a two-day show... be careful what you wish for.)

Anyhow, lots of observations on the show to come (and several hundred photos too), but I gotta go. See, they're electing a new Prime Minister for my country tonight, maybe, so I've gotta watch the election. Pictures later!

- Christopher

New York

I'll be in New York this weekend for the MoCCA festival. It's like SPX, but in New York and more expensive. Should be a hella-lotta fun. If I get a chance to update, I will, my friend Ed has a bitchin' computer set-up.

If you're gonna be there drop me a line at chris at beguiling dot com, we'll do lunch or whatever it is New Yorkers do. Smoke some cigarettes I guess, and maybe kill a hooker.

- Christopher

More thoughts on Book Expo Canada

I�m just going through my notes from Book Expo Canada here, and they aren�t terribly organized so if the following is a little too scattershot for you, well, I apologize in advance. Just think of these as �observations of what a trade show is supposed to look like, and what the future of the comics industry might look like.�

Book Expo Canada differs from traditional conventions or trade shows within the comics industry in that it is, by and large, not open to the public. Well, that�s not true. Anyone who is in any way related to the publishing industry can pay $60 to get in (that�s two days of conferences and two days of trade show), and it�s not like they�re overly strict about your credentials. That said, the $60 price is meant to scare the casual browser away (though it�s worth noting that full membership to Comic-Con International: San Diego is US$60 this year�). But yeah, it's a trade-show/convention for professionals working within the industry, and while most of those people also fall under the 'enthusiast' category as well, it's still a somewhat-closed event.

The other big difference between BEC and comic conventions is the level of professionalism on display. I�m not just talking about the flashy booths put on by publishers who are really using their grant money well, I�m specifically referring to the fact that the dress is uniformly business-casual or better. That, with very few exceptions, everyone carries themselves with a bit of dignity and the people dressed up in fursuits aren�t doing it as a lifestyle choice, they�re doing it to promote CLIFFORD, THE BIG RED DOG. Not that I have anything against the furries, mind, but it�d be nice to see the medium I enjoy treated as slightly more than a hobby and slightly less than a religion, occasionally. I want to point specifically to Jeff Parker and Steve Lieber for taking the point on this one: If you�re at a comic convention in any sort of professional capacity, you should look the part. No short-pants (�shorts�), a collared shirt (button-up or golf shirt), and a decent pair of shoes are a no-brainer, or should be anyway. These outfits can be put together for under $40 between thrift stores and Wal-Mart (and under $20 if you want to push it�), there�s literally no excuse not to at least make an attempt at treating yourself and your fellow professionals with a bit of respect.

Speaking of which, one of my notes is �Newsarama message board posters as height of ignorance� but I can�t remember what that was referring to.

And speaking of message board posters, I caught Drawn & Quarterly creator Seth�s audio/visual presentation, �12 Short Stories About Cartooning� at the show, in a full and darkened room. Seth�s an interesting public speaker, his intonation is almost like David Sedaris in the way his delivery tends towards the understated and dry. The one anecdote that really caught my attention was about the recent issue of Johnny Ryan�s ANGRY YOUTH COMICS. I think that Ryan is pretty painfully unfunny myself and so haven�t read the issue in question, but it contains a very obvious parody of Seth. After encountering the book a number of times and deciding it might be better for him not to read it (despite having one in his possession, couriered over by Fantagraphics in a �no hard feelings� sort of gesture), Seth happened upon the Comics Journal Message Board, comprised largely of people who give Newsarama posters a run for their money in an altogether more pretentious way. Seth recounted a post he had read there, it ended with �Boy, I�d sure like to see the look on his face when he sees that comic!� Seth immediately walked over to his copy of the book, still unread, and threw it in the trash. �Even though there was no way he would know it,� said Seth, �there was no way I was going to give that anonymous message board poster the satisfaction of imagining me reading that comic.� It was a very good presentation, overall.

On a slightly different note, the head of SPACE television, Mark Askwith, made an announcement regarding two of the guests in Harbourfront�s fall reading series. Harbourfront is an arts organization that puts on various literary and artistic events in waterfront locations in the city of Toronto. Presitigious and popular authors mix in a series of outstanding readings and presentations, and this year they�re adding comics creators to the mix. Adrian Tomine will be participating in the series, as will Art Spiegelman. Spiegelman will be reading from his upcoming graphic novel from Pantheon Books, IN THE SHADOW OF NO TOWERS, which should be particularly excellent. Harbourfront�s reading series is a very big deal in the city, particularly in the literary community, and this is a huge deal on a number of levels. Better still, apparently Spiegelman and Tomine are only the first two announcements�


I wrapped up the show on Monday by chatting with various booth representatives about the rise of graphic novels in the publishing field, and there was a great sense of excitement and enthusiasm for the books. The consensus reached was that graphic novels, even when they did make it to the bookstores, were an incredibly slow-moving product line in the past and so were paid little attention. But sales are on a dramatic upswing over the past couple of years, with sales doubling at quicker and quicker rates. Of particular note was distributor HB Fenn�s booth. Fenn are the Canadian distributors for DC Comics, and last year I noted that they only had three 18� x 24� posters up at their booth for DC product, or roughly 9 square feet. This year, there were more posters and a full display of actual book products, maybe 100+ square feet of display space all told (2x 4�x10� wall displays and posters)? It�s a dramatic change, and it�s only going to get bigger if the current rate of growth is maintained (and short of the entire customer base just changing their minds, that�s not likely to happen). The product is moving, and moving well.

And to be honest, that�s a really good thing for the medium of comics. The jury is still out on how it affects the industry, aside from �radical paradigm shifts� which is pretty unspecific, but there you go. The one thing that doesn�t change is Diamond. I hate to be a dick, but they�ve really gotta get their shit together with that book catalogue. I�m loathe to go into too much detail on why exactly their catalogue is broken, but a quick comparison between Diamond�s catalogue and any other book distributor�s catalogue will point out a number of obvious flaws. Like, say, a lack of GENRE listing for starters (which seems pretty fucking obvious to me�). Like I said, there�s more, and if anyone would like to pay me a hefty consulting fee I�d be happy to elucidate.

Anyway, that more or less wraps up my thoughts on Book Expo Canada, now completed for just over a week. I did have a larger allegorical post about BEC, the difference between the multi-party and two-party Canadian versus American political systems, and the direct market dichotomy between Superheroes and Everything Else, but man, that would have been an awful lot of work. Let me just sum up by saying: It�s not an either/or, and the people who think that it is are going to get completely blown-away Real Soon Now.

Thanks for reading,

- Christopher Butcher

Membership has its privileges.

Next Week in PW: The BEA Wrap-Up Issue

Next week's Publishers Weekly wraps up our coverage of this year's BookExpo America. We look at the BEA's bilingual boom and examine some of the titles booksellers were buzzing about at the show. Among children's books, novels once again stole the spotlight, but a strong picture-book line-up shared the stage. The maturing audio industry enjoyed new recognition at the show. And religious books are venturing into graphic novel territory. Our overview of university presses finds that despite two recent press closings, the news is slightly rosier.

The comics department looks at the San Diego Comics-Con, which drew 75,000 fans and 6,000 exhibitors last year and expects to attract even more people at this year's convention, to be held July 22-25. Marvel Comics is gearing up as several of its biggest creations come to the big screen in Spiderman 2 and Blade III. The Bookselling department profiles 28-year-old San Francisco Mystery Bookstore, which is still thriving thanks to handselling.
- From the Publisher's Weekly Daily newsletter, Friday June 18th 2004

I am now a subscriber to Publisher's Weekly, the essential trade magazine for the publishing industry. While, unfortunately, blogging has gotten considerably lighter over the past week and a half than I would have liked (particularly as I have so much to tell all of you), the quality of my entries should be increasing markedly over the next little while thanks to this and other new sources of reference opening up for me. I really do appreciate everyone who's reading (and checking back, and checking back, and checking back to see if I've updated) and I hope to have a few more entries on Book Expo for you soon, and one for the Toronto Comicon which I am presently attending.

Anyway, thanks for reading. Take care.

- Christopher

500 Words on Book Expo Canada

The first and most important thing to note is that last year I was very lucky to be a guest of the convention host, and this year I attended on my own credentials as an �expert� on graphic novels, one of the big buzz-words of Book Expo this year. Comics and Graphic Novels were much better represented around the show floor this year compared to last, the biggest immediate difference being a concerted effort made by Viz�s new distributor Simon & Shuster to put graphic novels, particularly the Shonen Jump line, out there in front of people and branding it alongside their regular young adult fiction. With a very busy show-floor and everyone from bookstore employees through buyers, librarians, publishers, and Important People milling about it�s nice to know that no one could escape graphic novels, and even better everyone seemed at least curious about (if not outright interested in) them. As I mentioned in a previous entry, this year was the first for Book Expo Canada�s �Graphic Novel Pavilion�, and with the sales and business upheavals in that product category it�s not difficult to see why everyone decided to go full-steam ahead on comics. Highlights of the show included talks and signings by Chester Brown and Seth for their graphic novels, the convention debut of DRAWING THE LINE, a hospital benefit anthology, and the copious amounts of alcohol that littered the show floor.

(While it�s nice that SPX has a bar on the show floor, it�s even nicer that I was assaulted with a mug of beer and a free copy of some hockey player�s biography at BEC. Greg, if you could look into that for me for this fall�s show? Thanks.)

The pavilion set up was roughly 40 feet by 20 feet, with the main through-fare running an L-shape through the area. In the acute of the �L� was a stage and seating for 40 to hear some of the Graphic Novel sales and information seminars. On the obtuse of the �L� bookshelves lined the walls of the booth with graphic novels broken down by rough age categories and groupings. Canadian book sellers only need four categories, apparently: �Gift,� �Young Readers,� �Manga,� and �Everything Else� (although that had a rough break-down of superheroes, Canadian Content, and Art-Comix that was more-or-less invisible to the naked eye). I have to admit that, despite the booth being largely supplied with material from the distributors and publishers, it was stocked with a very diverse and quality assortment of material. Granted, organizer Elizabeth Walker (ex PR person for Drawn & Quarterly) did an excellent job of pulling everything together and her tastes are fairly diverse, but I probably would like to have seen a more cultivated selection of books for the next year. It�s tough to be TOO picky though, particularly when publishers or distributors with� let�s be nice and say �mediocre�� mediocre product are paying for display space at the show and are going to want their books represented prominently.

The big change at Book Expo, and it�s a huge change if you�re only reading about comics on the internet or visiting a very, very superhero-centric store, is how artificial and to be honest, unhealthy, the direct market really is. Out in the real world (and, yeah, I know, I don�t mean to sound like a know-it-all dick, but�) the distinctions between comic strips and comic books, between �mainstream� and �indy�, between tradition and otherwise are greatly diminished. The Complete Peanuts Vol 1 is regarded (and I think rightly-so) as a Graphic Novel, despite the fact that it�s a collection of serialized strips. Comic strip reprints have just as much respect, if not more-so, than comics and graphic novels. Remember, the biggest announcement out of BEA for upcoming releases was THE COMPLETE CALVIN & HOBBES in fall of 2005. The only real differences in comic product are �manga� and �not manga�, and even that isn�t entirely analogous to the �superheroes� and �not superheroes� dichotomy of the direct market. In the book trade, the manga split is mostly because manga is seen (nearly exclusively) as a young-adult product line and something consistent in size and format that can easily be pulled out into it's own section of shelving, while the �everything else� is seen as a sliding-scale from Superhero books for young adults (13-16 and up), intermediate young adult and teen fiction like BLANKETS and GHOST WORLD, and graphic novels for adults like LOUIS RIEL, CLYDE FANS, or KING by Ho Che Anderson. This isn�t the mythical intellectual snobbery of The Comics Journal deciding what is and isn�t good from a mountain-top, this is an assortment of informed book lovers coming in and looking at our medium from the outside. It�s fascinating to watch and converse with someone who is intelligent and well-read discovering the entire medium of comics, regardless of genre, all at once. That one of the panelists� talking about introducing manga to the mainstream could list three of her favorite graphic novels as �SELINA�S BIG SCORE�, �DIARY OF A TEENAGE GIRL�, and �UNDERSTANDING COMICS� is remarkable, in my humble opinion. It certainly does illustrate a very different and considerably less-dogmatic way of thinking than most comic 'fans'...

Perhaps the most interesting thing to see was Diamond�s booth, representing their book publishing arm where some FORTY-PLUS publishers, primarily of graphic novels, have decided to sign. Diamond�s catalogue is fascinating, particularly for someone who might be familiar with the monstrous PREVIEWS catalogue, because it was a perfectly democratic publication. Every publisher, regardless of size, is listed alphabetically with each of their books for spring getting a much larger graphic than in Previews and a good write-up. I wonder, if they decided to run the regular PREVIEWS catalogue that way for a month, what would happen to sales on some of these titles�? Anyway, it was interesting though fairly unimpressive. Considering Diamond�s size and stature, their book catalogue looked second rate compared to many of the other distributor offerings. While it was in full-colour, it was also on the same muddy stock PREVIEWS is printed on, the differentiation between publishers was counter-intuitive at best, and it didn�t really follow the format of any of the catalogue offerings from larger distributors, breaking titles up by a more manageable format for book buyers unfamiliar with the medium. I guess everyone involved is still learning, but I�ve questioned all-along the wisdom of so many comics publishers signing with DBD for bookstore distribution and ghettoizing their product, and it seems any time I hear or see evidence of their efforts it tends to justify my concern.

At any rate, I�ve surpassed my word-count by quite a bit so I�m calling it a night. I�ve got lots more notes on BEC and I�ll be writing them up over the next couple of days. Thanks for reading, I hope you found this interesting as the first part of my coverage/discussion of the event.

- Christopher

Previews Review update

Just a quick note, I've updated Previews Review at http://www.previewsreview.com.

More today on BEC as soon as I finish typing up my notes.

- Christopher

Laugh at Chris

"Hey, do I know you? Are you one of the Giant Robot guys, cuz I think I've met you before..."

I'm trying to place this customer store the last week. He's a happy, slightly-exhausted looking asian guy and I know I've met him before and I can't place his face. I'm completely sure I'm losing what's left of my mind, and when I am 40 and can only recall things that have happened to me in the past 5 minutes (there's your MEMENTO...) I plan to sue the hell out of the people who got me hooked on the aspartame in the first place. Or my parents, I haven't decided.

"Oh yeah," he says. "I was here doing an interview a few months ago?"

That must be it, he must be one of the people that interviewed Peter or I at the store about graphic novels or TCAF or something. Well, I can be forgiven for not remembering him then, that's forgiveable.

"Right, right. Sorry. Well, let me know if I can help you find anything." At least I'm helpful. I return to my desk, putting together an order of Graphic Novels for a Catholic School Library and generally, you know, improving comics. That's my job, improving comics. I am very satisfied with myself, putting together this huge order of solid graphic novels and manga and what not. Some might even say proud.

"Oh, wow, I didn't know this came out. This is wonderful."

My customer and his buddy are talking to each other about Seth's new book, BANNOCK, BEANS, AND BLACK TEA. It is a wonderful little book, only a few inches by a few inches with lush production and a really nice-looking book altogether.

"Yeah," I chime in, being the helpful salesperson. "I'm actually about 3/4 of the way through it. I have to read it in chunks, it's a little bit heavy to read all at once. I totally recommend it though."

"Oh, I'd love to get it, but I'm heading out on tour tommorow and I've got like zero space left in my bags."

Tour. Tour. Tour. Tour... TOUR. Oh fuck, he's Kid Koala. I forgot Kid Koala. I actually and unironically slap my forehead.

"Oh, fuck. You're Kid Koala. I'm so sorry..."

FLASHBACK: It's Spring 2003, and I'm introduced to Eric San (also known as Kid Koala) at The Beguiling, where I've been working for a few months. "Chris," says my boss Peter, "This is Kid Koala." I like Eric's music and I'm gratified to know he's a comic fan. He comes to the shop a few times a year (living in Montreal, he likes to drop by whenever he's in town for a show). We talk about his Toronto Hallowe'en show that I went to (which was great) and about his then-upcoming graphic novel.

FLASHBACK: It's now late-fall 2003, and MTV is doing a segment on Kid Koala and his new tour/graphic novel NUFONIA MUST FALL. What better place to do it than in a comic book store, and what better comic book store than ours? Eric and the crew are in store for 2 or 3 hours, and I'm helping out, chatting with Eric, and just generally being my usual, lovable self. He even puts me on the guest-list for the show(!) but for some reason that is clearly unimportant in hindsight, I cannot attend.

So having hung around him for 4 or 5 hours and seen him in concert, you could imagine how easy it would be to completely forget him. Right? FUCK.

"...I didn't recognize you."

"Don't worry about it man, it's not that big a deal." Kid Koala is just about the nicest, most laid-back person I've ever met. I feel like an even bigger fucking tool because he is so completely non-chalant about it.

"It's just... Man, I'm sorry. The Giant Robot thing is because they covered you a bunch of times in their last issue and did the interview and stuff... I knew I'd seen you there and... Ah fuck, man, I'm a dick. I'm so sorry."

"Hah, whatever, it's alright. Um, is Peter here?"

...I'm a dick.

I explain that Peter is on vacation and am just about to start another rambling apology when luckily, friend-of-The-Beguiling Dave Kim walks into the store (of course, Dave recognizes Eric BY VOICE despite NEVER HAVING MET HIM) and gives me a convenient out of what could rapidly be a terrible end to a terrible conversation. We start talking a little bit about comics and about Dave, actually, who helped us out quite a bit with the last TCAF (Toronto Comic Arts Festival) and who works for the CBC, amongst other places. Despite my recent dickery, I bring up TCAF a little and then (somehow) find the nerve to ask if maybe Eric would consider playing at our next one, or exhibiting with his GN.

"Oh, wow. That'd be great, yeah. I never get to go to comic shows, and your last one sounded excellent."

I get the number of his people, and it looks very much like TCAF 2005 (set for May 27-29 2005) is going to feature a live show by Kid Koala, which, you know, that's pretty damned awesome.

So it all worked out in the end. Eric accepted my fourth or fifth apology, Dave got to meet someone whose music he really liked, and I get to throw a party featuring Kid Koala, and maybe even get his graphic novel back into print too. And now Dave gets something funny to read in my blog, and you all get to share in my important lesson about humility. Everybody wins!

If you're reading this Eric, I really am sorry.

- Christopher

Book Expo - The whys and wherefores.

Perhaps it's simply a matter for critisizing Pulse and Newsarama for being something that they clearly aren't, but I was kind of disappointed to see a near-complete lack of coverage from this past weekend's BOOK EXPO AMERICA in Chicago. I mean, the possibility exists that Pulse contributor (and Publisher's Weekly contributor, let's not forget) Heidi MacDonald was at the expo non-stop and is, even now, feverishly writing up a detailed report, but I'm not holding my breath. I have been reading ICV2's coverage and it's decent enough, particularly given their mandate to gear every article towards direct market retailers. I guess I'm just disappointed that unless it's the superhero facet of the medium or the direct market facet of the industry, there isn't a lot of attention paid to some pretty important developments in comics that aren't just CREATOR X REVIVES SUPERHERO PROPERTY Y or COMPANY Z ANNOUNCES OMEGA #1 THIS DECEMBER!

(For more of ICV2's coverage of BEA, visit: http://www.icv2.com)

Book Expo (as I mentioned last week I think) is becoming more and more important to publishers because the book market economy for graphic novels is going to overtake the market for floppies very soon indeed. I'm estimating by the end of 2005, in terms of dollars, but it could take a skootch longer. Publishers are going to be putting their releases together based much more heavily on the spring/fall dichotomy of new book releases (Actually, there's a quartet of release periods in the book trade: spring, summer, fall, and "holiday". Comics will always be a little bit different than books, as they've always tended to be on the "Summer Convention Season" / "Holiday Shopping" schedule, but expect January through March to become even more of a dead-zone than it has been previously, and the time between the con-season books (June) and back-to-school will slow down considerably.) Some of the quicker-thinking publishers are already working on the book-market schedule of spring/fall releases, and it's only a matter of time before someone at Marvel clues in that MAYBE they might have to finally start paying attention to their market instead of just doing whatever they want and expecting people to fall in line. I wonder if Scott will ever share his "Marvel Story" with you over at All Ages? Probably not, but it really is quite amusing and indicative of their general behaviour... But I digress...

Every year, the week following BEA is BEC: Book Expo Canada. The big news out of BEA this year was that the Graphic Novel Pavillion was more or less the star of the show, and was roughly twice as big as last year, in terms of floor space. This year marks the first year that there will be a Graphic Novel Pavilion at Book Expo Canada (the 'graphic novel explosion' is about one year behind in Canada, although believe me we're doing our damndest to catch everyone up...). You can find out a little more about the graphic novel portion of the show and the programming that will accompany it here: http://www.reedexpo.ca/bookexpo/graphic_novel.asp. The site doesn't feature the updates that state that both my employer Peter Birkemoe and myself will be on several of the panels, but that's neither here nor there. You can get a good overview of what's going to go on.

I personally think that a Graphic Novel presence at these trade events is important for a number of reasons. The most obvious one is showing that there's a lot of good material out there that's ready to sit at the grown-up's table in the book store market. There'll always be the albatrosses of glossy, empty crap hanging around the medium/industry's necks (I'm thinking of one particular publisher who put a lot of material into the market and then basically stopped publishing leaving anyone who had sold their product in a real lurch...). But I mean, no matter how many copies of THE FIRST a library got stuck with, throw them an OPTIC NERVE: SUMMER BLODE, a LOUIS RIEL, a GHOST WORLD and some manga and all is forgiven. I particularly think that the appearance of smart people with a strong product knowledge at these events is important because there's so very little product education out there. The D&Q bookseller's guide to comics is awesome, and believe me Peter and I do as much work with librarians and buyers to set up good graphic novel selections as possible, but... Well, imagine you worked in a convenience store, and you sold a good mix of product that you were familiar with, and then one day 10 kids come in and as for GLORK! Then the next day it's 15 kids who want GLORK!, then 20, then... Well, pretty soon you're going out of your head trying to figure out what this GLORK! shit is, and someone comes along and offers you assorted GLORK! and you just KNOW you need this stuff and you take what you can get. That's how middle-schools (11-13yo) end up with copies of DAVID BORING and ANYONE ends up with a copy of THE FIRST; no one is telling these people what the GLORK is...

(The situation is directly analogous with the direct market, btw. Not one of the major manga publishers has any real retailer presence to speak of, except for maybe Robert Boyd who was just hired on at ADV manga. I mean, there are people there, but there's literally no product education going on whatsoever, and only a select handful of retailers are going above and beyond to educate themselves... For a long time I was going onto the retailer forum and doing a book-by-book breakdown of Tokyopop and Viz's offerings, every month, spelling out the potential salability, the intended audience, and who the book might appeal to. If I were a representative of ANY PUBLISHER, and I mean ANY PUBLISHER and not just a manga publisher, I'd be spending the 4 hours a month (or whatever it took) to talk up every single project I published. It turns out that it's only Jeff Mason doing that, btw, and even he's having a rough go of it as of late).

At any rate, I think BEC is going to be an interesting weekend. I'm going to try and do some informal interviews with attendees, maybe bring back some content for y'all. Show exactly why this kind of stuff is important...? You get the idea.

Oh, and the other (selfish) reason I'm looking forward to BEC? It's more-or-less the official kick-off to CONVENTION SEASON for me (Anime North doesn't really count: That was just selling). Last year I got into the event under pretty-much the most prestigious badge you COULD get in under and drank a lot of free champagne and hung out at Raincoast/Drawn & Quarterly's booth and got free graphic novels. Good Times, Good Times... This year I've been told to expect much more of the same, which is quite nice.

Anyhow, these certainly are interesting times we live in (as Dirk Deppey alluded to in his farewell message this morning), and I at least am going to do everything I can to educate myself about the changes ahead. I hope that the popular 'comics news' sites step up to the plate and do the same. I'll do my part...!

- Christopher

Guilty

I was reading Kevin Melrose's excellent THOUGHT BALLOONS blog, all the daily news and events centered around these comical books we love, and I caught myself playing favourites. I cheered for the 'good news' and cursed the 'bad news'. I guess we're all a little like that, silently rooting for 'our team', but what I had noticed was that I was 'rooting' against the superhero books and the traditional direct-market bullshit, and for anything else.

I dunno about you, but I get pretty damned annoyed when I see some typical clueless superhero fuck spouting innanities about 'independent' books (read: anything not by Marvel or DC), let alone manga, and yet here I am participating in (a much lesser degree of) the same fashion. I sometimes wonder if that attitude doesn't pervade every aspect of my interaction with the comic book industry, from recommendations to orders to whatever? I can usually separate out the medium from all of this, I have no problem enjoying individual books regardless of their genre or publisher (as long as they're any good), but as soon as the industry starts creeping into the work the hairs on the back of my neck start rising and I feel a rant building about how the superhero fetishists apparently need another goddamned JSA book to fill the void that was their empty, meaningless life... Well, you get the picture.

I've been conditioned... mostly by the internet but also by my self-publishing friends and by my employers, to view the comics market very much as an "us against them". The fact of that matter is, this behaviour really does permeate every facet of the industry. You can be sure that, these days in particular, Marvel or DC aren't sitting down at their editorial meetings trying to figure out how to make their books better, so much as how to steal the other guys' thunder, or how to take the best out of the small press and hurt smaller publishers. This is all factual, not just supposition, this is what's actually happening. How can you (if you happen to be me) not get angry or annoyed at this? How can it not make you more than a little bitter to the group of assholes (read: absolutely everyone) now only allowing this Marvel vs. DC and no one else matters dichotomy to continue but actively encouraging it?

And so I find myself jeering Marvel when I hear their publishing division is way up over last year, and cheering when I hear that Comics and Graphic Novels grew over %50 last year as a retail category, and over two thirds of that was outside of the direct market. It's completely fucked up, but then, I think acting fucked up is the only sensible reaction to something that IS fucked up, y'know?

Forgive my vulgarity.

At any rate, a lot of the time I'm really fighting to stay positive about the industry. To stay focused, to keep interested and remind myself what I like about it. I love, LOVE some of the books, and I couldn't be happier when I hear that someone picked up a book and love it on my recommendation. I think we've sold more copies of THE WALKING DEAD TRADE PAPERBACK at work than we ordered of issues 1-3 COMBINED, and I really pushed those single issues too. We're currently sold out again (more Weds though, so it's alright).

So, I'm outting myself I guess: I have bad thoughts. I have to work at being better than that. Try and focus on the positive and helping out the things that need help and ignoring the rest until it shows up on my doorstep, if it ever does. I was thinking/talking a little bit about this last week, but it wasn't until someone came into the store and told me my blog had gotten "lame" over the past few days that I realized it was time to straighten up and fly right. So, from today on until it gets shitty again (and San Diego is only a couple of months away...) FULL SPEED AHEAD. Good commentary, good comic books, I'll see the good in everyone (ooo).

Thanks again to everyone who reads this, and who has responded via e-mail or the comments. Much appreciated, and I'll try not to be so lame :).

- Christopher Butcher

Public Service Announcement: Maybe I wasn't clear enough before?

SCOTT PILGRIM VOLUME 1: SCOTT PILGRIM'S PRECIOUS LITTLE LIFE GN
by Bryan Lee O'Malley
Scott Pilgrim's life is totally sweet. He's 23 years old, in a rock band, "between jobs," and dating a cute high school girl. Everything's fantastic until a seriously mind-blowing, dangerously fashionable, rollerblading delivery girl named Ramona Flowers starts cruising through his dreams and sailing by him at parties. Will Scott's awesome life get turned upside-down? Will he have to face Ramona's seven evil ex-boyfriends in battle?
MATURE READERS
SC, 6x8, 168pg, b&w $11.95
Order Code: MAY04 2851

It's not too late to pre-order with your local retailer. Get to it! ;)

- Christopher

DC COMICS SIGNS JOSHUA MIDDLETON TO 2-YEAR EXCLUSIVE AGREEMENT

Huh, betcha didn't see that one coming eh? It's all right there in the second sentence of the press release though, "professionalism and good sense". I don't imagine it would be possible, in a DC Comics press release, to thumb your nose any more clearly or openly but, you know, there it is. I wonder if Joe Quesada will be calling Josh on his magical cell phone during the next convention panel to pout that he never liked him anyway.

I'm a little annoyed to read that there are no conditions to his exclusivity allowing him to complete SKY BETWEEN BRANCHES. Further still, DC has made a point of mentioning that Middleton will be working on their 'top characters' as opposed to doing anything new, which is just sort of contributing to the general corporate comics malaise. That said, I'm sure the work will look incredibly pretty. Press release follows, de-italicized.

Acclaimed artist Joshua Middleton, best known for his work on NYX and Meridian, has signed a 2-year exclusive agreement with DC Comics.

"In the short time that I've gotten to know the folks at DC, I have been nothing but pleased at the professionalism and good sense they have demonstrated," says Middleton. "Straightaway we were on the same page, and crafting a long-term relationship was extremely easy due to my confidence in DC's vision and their understanding of my work and goals as an artist. It is genuinely inspiring to feel so embraced, and I can hardly put into words how excited I am to put pencil to paper in such a well-rounded and creatively rewarding atmosphere. Without wasting a second, DC has managed to put together a wonderful project that affords me the ability to complete art of the utmost quality by playing to my strengths, but at the same time will challenge me to new artistic heights. It will be bigger, better, and more fantastic than anything I've ever done, and I hope readers will be surprised and excited by it. I certainly am!"

"We're ecstatic to have Josh come on board with DC," says Dan DiDio, DC's VP - Editorial. "And we are anxious to see him apply his unique style and vision to our top characters."

DC will announce Middleton's upcoming projects at a later date.

--

- Christopher

New DC Trades Announced through end of 2004- Commentary Post

As mentioned in the two posts below, DC has announced their trade paperback publishing plans through the end of 2004. Some really notable inclusions (and absences) in the list of stuff, let's walk through them, shall we!

DOWN AND OUT IN THE DCU

DC pretty-much stays the course with collections continuing for both their 'classic' and contemporary lines. Superman: Man Of Steel, Perez Wonder Woman, Starman, and JLA all get new trades (amongst others) (including the recent Byrne/Claremont run). The expensive DC Hard cover graphic novels and collections get soft covers (Batman: Hush 2, Batman: Detective 27, Batman: Hong Kong, etc). Same goes for collections of recent series including the Winick Batman run, Teen Titans, Outsiders, a hard cover of the Azzarello/Lee Superman in December and bunches more.

Projects of specific note? The TEEN TITANS GO (animated series trades) collections are being released in the digest format with five issues a pop and for only 7 bucks, which is pretty decent. There's a third collection of Ed Brubaker's pre-"reboot" CATWOMAN, featuring art from Cameron Stewart and Javier Pulido and a decent run of comics, so that's nice. Considering it looks like they're going to keep this new direction for the book, it would have been nice to get more than 128 pages though (a nice fat 200+ page trade for $20, collect as much of what's left as possible so as not to leave the TPB readers in a lurch? No? No?). The entire SUPERMAN: BIRTHRIGHT 12 issue series is getting collected as one great bit 304 page hard cover for $30, which is kind of surprising (but welcome). At $30 it's priced just right too. The DC COMICS RARITIES ARCHIVES looks to be a neat line of books as well, collecting comics from the World's Fair(?), so that'll be cool.

The big gaping hole in this list, for me anyway, is GOTHAM CENTRAL VOLUME 2. Where is it? With the series at issue 18 and the trade being a hot-seller at our store, I was hoping to see a second collection and quicker release schedule. The other book I was expecting to see was SUPERBOY'S LEGION by Alan Davis (I was sure this was a lock, given how much attention he's been getting lately).

Two big "WTF?" moments. JUSTICE LEAGE OF AMERICA: ANOTHER NAIL is being released in a collected edition just 3 months after the third issue arrives on stands. I guess DC is being REALLY SERIOUS about not keeping prestige format books in print...! The other one? Aparently they're releasing a trade paperback collection of the first three issues of Darwyn Cooke's excellent DC: THE NEW FRONTIER. Rather than, say, doing a HC of all six issues. Espescially given that the sixth issue will, in fact, be out by that point. I appreciate that they want to do "affordable" collections for people but the trade is less than a buck cheaper than buying the individual issues. I hope Darwyn's making some decent royalties at least.

OH NO, VERTIGO

Vertigo is more-or-less following the DCU standard of trades: New volumes of existing/continuing series (Fables, Y: The Last Man, Swamp Thing) and soft cover editions of expensive original hard covers (Lovecraft, Azzarello's SGT. ROCK). It looks like, thankfully, both the HUMAN TARGET and THE LOSERS are going to get volume 2's, which is juuuuuuuuuust awesome. It's probably less likely that THE HUMAN TARGET, a book I enjoy, is going to get cancelled any time soon if they keep giving me trade paperback collections. Better still, both Diggle and Jock on LOSERS are on a quick rise of popularity and the second LOSERS collection will definitely help retailers capitalize on that.

Projects of note include a welcome trade paperback collection of MY FAITH IN FRANKIE, and in the convenient 5.5" x 8" manga format for just $7! Good on yer, gentlemen. This marks the first non-young readers book DC has published in this format, and I'm told it is a harbinger of things to come at the company. After much speculation and even other companies offering to publish the works, it looks like Sandman: Mystery Theatre is finally getting a second volume. THE FACE and THE BRUTE collects the second and third story lines from the series, which is very cool. I'll be buying this one. Also very cool, it looks like they're collecting both of the funny, ephemeral 3 issue RIFLE BRIGADE mini-series' by Garth Ennis into one collection. That just about collects everything he's ever done, doesn't it? Good stuff.

As for the gaping holes in this selection of books, how long have you got? The biggest disappointment is the lack of a SHADE: THE CHANGING MAN VOLUME 2, and it looks like the reprints of Morrison's DOOM PATROL won't be appearing until 2005, which is too bad. It also looks like we're not going to get to see any of the enjoyable VERTIGO POP mini-series make it into collection, which is really too bad as I could sells tons of both TOKYO and LONDON. Maybe, with any luck, if the manga-sized MY FAITH IN FRANKIE does all right we'll get similar collections for the POP material, as well as unfairly forgotten and maligned vertigo mini's like the Chaykin/Bond ANGEL AND THE APE (amongst many, many others).

The only real WTF? moment is HELLBLAZER: SETTING SUN TP by Warren Ellis, Tim Bradstreet, and Various. It had been hinted/rumoured that we might get a Hellblazer Short Stories collection, featuring the rest of Ellis' aborted run, the Morrison Two-Parter and some of the better one-offs and two-offs throughout the run. Looks like that isn't going to happen, and instead we get a 96 page collection of 4 issues. Four decent issues, mind, but what might have been, what might have been...

THE WILDSTORM HAS PASSED

Really weak offering from Wildstorm/ABC. We get one ABC collection before Christmas, a HC of the enjoyable SMAX mini-series from Alan Moore and Zander Cannon. I actually wasn't expecting a hard cover of this one at all, espescially considering its relative length and the fact that none of the other ABC minis have made it into HC. I guess with TOP TEN: THE '49ers another year away, they've got to release a prestige format of something...

The other notable release is GEN 13: ORDINARY HEROES which looks to collect the funny, well-done Adam Hughes two-issue mini-series and some of the better material from the GEN13: Bootleg series. In case you couldn't tell, I have enormous soft-spot for GEN 13 and I actually think that quite a bit of the material was enjoyable superhero fluff. Certainly not essential, but there's something to be said for the best of the material.

HUMANOIDS AND 200AD

I don't really have a lot to say about these books that hasn't already been said. I will point out that the Chaland Anthology featuring the Freddy Lombard stuff is really quite gorgeous, and I recommend it (though the original hard cover printings are similarly attractive, only bigger...).

...and that's it! Quite a big announcement, I don't know if anyone is as excited about it as I am but then there you go. Enjoy!

- Christopher

DC's NEW TRADES part 2
Vertigo, Humanoids, and 2000AD Material

* VERTIGO titles scheduled to arrive in stores in September:

HELLBLAZER: SETTING SUN TP
Writer: Warren Ellis
Artists: Tim Bradstreet and various
$12.95 US/$19.95 CAN, 96 pages

SWAMP THING: REGENESIS TP
Writer: Rick Veitch
Artists: Rick Veitch, Alfredo Alcala and John Totleben
$17.95 US/$27.95 CAN, 160 pages

* VERTIGO titles scheduled to arrive in stores in October:

MY FAITH IN FRANKIE TP
Writer: Mike Carey
Artists: Sonny Liew & Marc Hempel
$6.95 US/$10.75 CAN, 112 pages, dimensions: 5" x 7 3/8"

FABLES: MARCH OF THE WOODEN SOLDIERS TP
Writer: Bill Willingham
Artists: Mark Buckingham & Steve Leialoha
$14.95 US/$22.95 CAN, 192 pages

LOVECRAFT SC
Writers: Hans Rodionoff & Keith Giffen
Artist: Enrique Breccia
$17.95 US/$27.95 CAN, 144 pages

SANDMAN MYSTERY THEATRE: THE FACE AND THE BRUTE TP
Writer: Matt Wagner
Artists: John Watkiss, R.G. Taylor
$19.95 US/$30.95 CAN, 208 pages

HUMAN TARGET: LIVING IN AMERIKA TP
Writer: Peter Milligan
Artist: Cliff Chiang
$14.95 US/$22.95 CAN, 128 pages

* VERTIGO titles scheduled to arrive in stores in November:

THE LOSERS: DOUBLE DOWN TP
Writer: Andy Diggle
Artists: Jock and Shawn Martinbrough
$12.95 US/$19.95 CAN, 144 pages

SGT. ROCK: BETWEEN HELL AND A HARD PLACE SC
Writer: Brian Azzarello
Artist: Joe Kubert
$17.95 US/$27.95 CAN, 144 pages

Y: THE LAST MAN - S&M TP
Writer: Brian K. Vaughan
Artists: Pia Guerra, Goran Parlov and Jos� Marz�n, Jr.
$12.95 US/$19.95 CAN, 144 pages

* VERTIGO titles scheduled to arrive in stores in December:

ADVENTURES IN THE RIFLE BRIGADE TP
Writer: Garth Ennis
Artists: Carlos Ezquerra, Brian Bolland
$14.95 US/$22.95 CAN, 144 pages

BLOOD: A TALE TP
Writer: J.M. DeMatteis
Artist: Kent Williams
$19.95 US/$30.95 CAN, 208 pages

SWAMP THING: BAD SEED TP
Writer: Andy Diggle
Artist: Enrique Breccia
$9.95 US/$15.25 CAN, 144 pages

* Humanoids titles scheduled to arrive in stores in September:

THE WHITE LAMA VOL. 1: REINCARNATION TP
Writer: Alexandro Jodorowsky
Artist: Georges Bess
$17.95 US/$27.95 CAN, 144 pages, dimensions: 7 3/8" x 10 1/5"

CHALAND ANTHOLOGY VOL. 1: FREDDY LOMBARD TP
Written/Artist: Yves Chaland
$17.95 US/$27.95 CAN, 136 pages, dimensions: 7 3/8" x 10 1/5"

THE BEAST TRILOGY: CHAPTERS 1 & 2 TP
Writer/Artist: Enki Bilal
$14.95 US/$22.95 CAN, 128 pages, dimensions: 7 3/8" x 10 1/5"

* Humanoids titles scheduled to arrive in stores in October:

SON OF THE GUN TP
Writer: Alexandro Jodorowsky
Artist: Georges Bess
$17.95 US/$27.95 CAN, 112 pages, dimensions: 7 3/8" x 10 1/5"

MILO MANARA'S ODYSSIES OF GIUSEPPE BERGMAN TP
Writer/Artist: Milo Manara
$17.95 US/$27.95 CAN, 128 pages, dimensions: 7 3/8" x 10 1/5"

METABARONS VOL. 2: AGHNAR & ODA TP
Writer: Alexandro Jodorowski
Artist: Juan Gimenez
$14.95 US/$22.95 CAN, 136 pages, dimensions: 7 3/8" x 10 1/5"

* Humanoids titles scheduled to arrive in stores in November:

TECHNOPRIESTS VOL. 2 TP
Writer: Alexandro Jodorowsky
Artists: Zoran Janjetov, Fred Beltran
$14.95 US/$22.95 CAN, 144 pages, dimensions: 7 3/8" x 10 1/5"

BY THE NUMBERS VOL. 1: THE ROAD TO CAO BANG TP
Writer: Stanislas
Artist: Rullier
$14.95 US/$22.95 CAN, 112 pages, dimensions: 7 3/8" x 10 1/5"

THE NIKOPOL TRILOGY TP
Writer/Arist: Enki Bilal
$17.95 US/$27.95 CAN, 176 pages, dimensions: 7 3/8" x 10 1/5"

* Humanoids titles scheduled to arrive in stores in December:

THE WHITE LAMA 2: ROAD TO REDEMPTION TP
Writer: Alexandro Jodorowsky
Artist: Georges Bess
$17.95 US/$27.95 CAN, 160 pages, dimensions: 7 3/8" x 10 1/5"

BOUNCER: RAISING CAIN TP
Writer: Alexandro Jodorowsky
Artist: Fran�ois Boucq
$17.95 US/$27.95 CAN, 128 pages, dimensions: 7 3/8" x 10 1/5"

TRANSGENESIS: 2029 VOL. 1: FIDES TP
Writer: Anne Ploy
Artist: Didier Pagot
$14.95 US/$22.95 CAN, 104 pages, dimensions: 7 3/8" x 10 1/5"

* DC Comics/2000 A.D. titles scheduled to arrive in stores in September:

SINISTER DEXTER: GUNSHARK VACATION TP
Writer: Dan Abnett
Artists: Various
$14.95 US/$22.95 CAN, 128 pages, dimensions: 7 3/8" x 10 3/16"
Suggested for mature readers

THE BATMAN/JUDGE DREDD FILES TP
Writers: John Wagner & Alan Grant
Arists: Simon Bisley and others
$14.95 US/$22.95 CAN, 208 pages, dimensions: 7 3/8" x 10 3/16"

* DC Comics/2000 A.D. titles scheduled to arrive in stores in October:

RED RAZORS TP
Writer: Mark Millar
Artists: Steve Yeowell, Nigel Dobbyn
$12.95 US/$19.95 CAN, 144 pages, dimensions: 7 3/8" x 10 3/16"
Suggested for mature readers

DEVLIN WAUGH: SWIMMING IN BLOOD TP
Writer: John Smith
Artists: Sean Phillips, Siku, Michael Gaydos
$19.95 US/$30.95 CAN, 224 pages, dimensions: 7 3/8" x 10 3/16"
Suggested for mature readers

* DC Comics/2000 A.D. titles scheduled to arrive in stores in November:

JUDGE DREDD: JUDGEMENT DAY TP
Writer: Garth Ennis
Artists: Various
$14.95 US/$22.95 CAN, 160 pages, dimensions: 7 3/8" x 10 3/16"

NIKOLAI DANTE: THE ROMANOV DYNASTY TP
Writer: Robbie Morrison
Artists: Various
$19.95 US/$30.95 CAN, 192 pages, dimensions: 7 3/8" x 10 3/16"

* DC Comics/2000 A.D. titles scheduled to arrive in stores in December:

ROBO-HUNTER: VERDUS TP
Writer: John Wagner
Artists: Ian Gibson, Jos� Luis Ferror
$14.95 US/$22.95 CAN, 136 pages, dimensions: 7 3/8" x 10 3/16"

SHIMURA TP
Writer: Robbie Morrison
Artists: Various
$19.95 US/$30.95 CAN, 224 pages, dimensions: 7 3/8" x 10 3/16"
Suggested for mature readers

Really Big Blog Post Part One

DC COMICS UNVEILS COLLECTED EDITIONS FOR REMAINDER OF 2004

On the eve of Book Expo America in Chicago, DC Comics announces new
graphic novels and collected editions scheduled to run through the end of
this year, with titles from the DCU, VERTIGO, WildStorm, and more.

Please note that the information below is subject to change. All VERTIGO
and Humanoids titles are suggested for mature readers.

- Christopher here. Just received this in my mailbox. I'm going to be breaking this up into three parts, DCU, WILDSTORM, and BEYOND THE DCU (which you're reading now), VERTIGO, HUMANOIDS, & 2000AD (the next post/the post above this one), and COMMENTARY (which will be the newest message for a little while. Enjoy!

* DCU titles scheduled to arrive in stores in September:

SUPERMAN: MAN OF STEEL VOL. 3 TP
Writers: John Byrne, Marv Wolfman
Artists: John Byrne, Jerry Ordway and various
$19.95 US/$30.95 CAN, 208 pages

WONDER WOMAN: CHALLENGE OF THE GODS TP
Writers: George P�rez, Len Wein
Artists: George P�rez and Bruce Patterson
$19.95 US/$30.95 CAN, 176 pages

BATMAN IN THE EIGHTIES TP
Writers/Artists: Various
$19.95 US/$30.95 CAN, 192 pages

BATMAN: WAR DRUMS TP
Writers: Anderson Gabrych, Bill Willingham
Artists: Pete Woods, Damion Scott and various
$17.95 US/$27.95 CAN, 256 pages

BATMAN: HONG KONG SC
Writer: Doug Moench
Artist: Tony Wong
$17.95 US/$27.95 CAN, 128 pages

PLASTIC MAN ARCHIVES VOL. 6 HC
Writer/Artist: Jack Cole
$49.95 US/$76.95 CAN, 204 pages

CHALLENGERS OF THE UNKNOWN MUST DIE TP
Writer: Jeph Loeb
Artists: Tim Sale
$19.95 US/$30.95 CAN, 224 pages

STARMAN: GRAND GUIGNOL TP
Writer: James Robinson
Artists: Peter Snejbjerg, Paul Smith
$19.95 US/$30.95 CAN, 288 pages

JLA: TRIAL BY FIRE TP
Writer: Joe Kelly
Artists: Doug Mahnke & Tom Nguyen
$12.95 US/$19.95 CAN, 144 pages

* DCU titles scheduled to arrive in stores in October:

SUPERMAN: THE MAN OF TOMORROW ARCHIVES VOL. 1 HC
Writers: Otto Binder, Jerry Coleman
Artists: Wayne Boring, Al Plastino, Kurt Schaffenberger and various
$49.95 US/$76.95 CAN, 236 pages

SUPERMAN: BIRTHRIGHT HC
Writer: Mark Waid
Artist: Leinil Yu & Gerry Alanguilan
$29.95 US/$45.95 CAN, 304 pages

JSA: SAVAGE TIMES TP
Writers: Geoff Johns and David S. Goyer
Artists: Leonard Kirk, Patrick Gleason and various
$14.95 US/$22.95 CAN, 168 pages

BATMAN DETECTIVE NO. 27 SC
Writer: Michael Uslan
Artist: Peter Snejbjerg
$12.95 US/$19.95 CAN, 96 pages

TEEN TITANS: FAMILY LOST TP
Writer: Geoff Johns
Artists: Mike McKone, Ivan Reis, Tom Grummett and various
$9.95 US/$15.25 CAN, 176 pages

BATMAN: AS THE CROW FLIES TP
Writer: Judd Winick
Artists: Dustin Nguyen & Richard Friend
$12.95 US/$19.95 CAN, 128 pages

GOLDEN AGE SANDMAN ARCHIVES VOL. 1 HC
Writer: Gardner Fox
Artists: Bert Christman, Creig Flessel, Ogden Whitney and various
$49.95 US/$76.95 CAN, 228 pages

BATMAN: HUSH VOL. 2 TP
Writer: Jeph Loeb
Artists: Jim Lee & Scott Williams
$12.95 US/$19.95 CAN
192 pages

TEEN TITANS GO! VOL. 1: TRUTH, JUSTICE, PIZZA! TP
Writer: J. Torres
Artists: Dave Bullock and various
$6.95 US/$10.75 CAN, 112 pages, dimensions: 5 1/8" x 7 9/16"

TEEN TITANS GO! VOL. 2: HEROES ON PATROL! TP
Writers: J. Torres, Adam Beechen
Artists: Dave Bullock and various
$6.95 US/$10.75 CAN, 112 pages, dimensions: 5 1/8" x 7 9/16"

JIMMY OLSEN: ADVENTURES BY JACK KIRBY VOL. 2 TP
Writer: Jack Kirby
Artists: Jack Kirby, Vince Colletta and Mike Royer
$19.95 US/$30.95 CAN, 192 pages

* DCU titles scheduled to arrive in stores in November:

SUPERMAN/BATMAN: SUPERGIRL HC
Writer: Jeph Loeb
Artist: Michael Turner
$19.95 US/$30.95 CAN, 160 pages

OUTSIDERS: SUM OF ALL EVIL TP
Writer: Judd Winick
Artists: Tom Raney, Tom Derenick, Will Conrad and various
$12.95 US/$19.95 CAN, 144 pages

CATWOMAN: RELENTLESS TP
Writer: Ed Brubaker
Artists: Cameron Stewart, Javier Pulido and various
$19.95 US/$30.95 CAN, 128 pages

HAWKMAN ARCHIVES VOL. 2 HC
Writer: Gardner Fox
Artist: Murphy Anderson
$49.95 US/$76.95 CAN, 216 pages

DC COMICS RARITIES ARCHIVES VOL. 1 HC
Collecting NEW YORK WORLD'S FAIR 1939 and 1940 and THE BIG ALL-AMERICAN
COMIC BOOK
Writers: Jerry Siegel, Gardner Fox, various
Artists: Joe Shuster, Bob Kane, various
$49.95 US/$76.95 CAN, 348 pages

GREEN LANTERN: LEGACY - LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT OF HAL JORDAN SC
Writer: Joe Kelly
Artists: Brent Anderson & Bill Sienkiewicz
$17.95 US/$27.95 CAN, 112 pages

JLA: THE 10TH CIRCLE TP
Writers: John Byrne & Chris Claremont
Artists: John Byrne & Jerry Ordway
$12.95 US/$19.95 CAN, 144 pages

PLASTIC MAN: ON THE LAM TP
Writer/Artist: Kyle Baker
$14.95 US/$22.95 CAN, 144 pages

* DCU titles scheduled to arrive in stores in December:

JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA: ANOTHER NAIL TP
Writer: Alan Davis
Artists: Davis & Mark Farmer
$12.95 US/$19.95 CAN, 160 pages

DC: THE NEW FRONTIER VOL. 1 TP
Writer/Artist: Darwyn Cooke
$19.95 US/$30.95 CAN, 208 pages

SUPERMAN: FOR TOMORROW VOL. 1 HC
Writer: Brian Azzarello
Artists: Jim Lee & Scott Williams
$19.95 US/$30.95 CAN, 128 pages

COMICS CAVALCADE ARCHIVES HC
Writers/Artists: Various
$49.95 US/$76.95 CAN, 276 pages

* WildStorm and America's Best Comics titles scheduled to arrive in
stores in September:

THUNDERCATS: HAMMERHAND'S REVENGE TP
Writer: Fiona Avery
Artist: Carlos D'Anda
$14.95 US/$22.95 CAN, 144 pages

SMAX HC
America's Best Comics
Writer: Alan Moore
Artist: Zander Cannon
$19.95 US/$30.95 CAN, 136 pages

THE LIFE EATERS SC
Writer: David Brin
Artist: Scott Hampton
$19.95 US/$30.95 CAN, 144 pages

GEN13: ORDINARY HEROES TP
Writers: Adam Hughes, Mark Farmer
Artists: Adam Hughes, Alan Davis and various
$14.95 US/$22.95 CAN, 128 pages

* WildStorm title scheduled to arrive in stores in October:

THE AUTHORITY BOOK TWO TP
Writer: Robbie Morrison
Artists: Dwayne Turner & Sal Regla
$14.95 US/$22.95 CAN, 144 pages
Suggested for mature readers

* WildStorm title scheduled to arrive in stores in December:

THE SAGA OF SEVEN SUNS: VEILED ALLIANCES SC
Writer: Kevin J. Anderson
Artist: Robert Teranishi
$17.95 US/$27.95 CAN, 96 pages

* Beyond the DCU title scheduled to arrive in stores in September:

THE WILL EISNER COMPANION HC
Writers: N.C. Christopher Couch & Stephen Weiner
Artist: Will Eisner
$19.95 US/$30.95 CAN, 176 pages, dimensions: 6" x 9"

* Beyond the DCU titles scheduled to arrive in stores in October:

ELFQUEST: THE GRAND QUEST VOL. 5 TP
Writers: Wendy and Richard Pini
Artist: Wendy Pini
$9.95 US/$15.25 CAN, 224 pages; B&W; dimensions: 5" x 7 3/8"

THE SPIRIT ARCHIVES VOL. 15 HC
Writer/Artist: Will Eisner
$49.95 US/$76.95 CAN, 196 pages

* Beyond the DCU titles scheduled to arrive in stores in November:

ROAD TO PERDITION 2: ON THE ROAD TP
PARADOX PRESS
Writer: Max Allan Collins
Artists: Jos� Luis Garc�a-L�pez, Steve Lieber, Josef Rubinstein
$14.95 US/$22.95 CAN; 296 pages; B&W; dimensions: 8" x 5 1/2"

ELFQUEST ARCHIVES VOL. 2 HC
Writers: Wendy and Richard Pini
Artist: Wendy Pini
$49.95 US/$76.95 CAN; 224 pages

* Beyond the DCU titles scheduled to arrive in stores in December:

ELFQUEST: THE GRAND QUEST VOL. 6 TP
Writers: Wendy and Richard Pini
Artist: Wendy Pini
$9.95 US/$15.25 CAN, 224 pages; B&W; dimensions: 5" x 7 3/8"

T.H.U.N.D.E.R. AGENTS ARCHIVES VOL. 5 HC
Writers: Wallace Wood, Steve Skeates and various
Artists: Wallace Wood and various
$49.95 US/$76.95 CAN, 216 pages

...and because I forgot.

Oh, oh man...

QUESTION: The hype on things has gotten pretty loud. Joss Whedon on X-MEN! Chuck Austen on SUPERMAN! Sergio Aragones on YOUR MOM! Etc., etc. Bryan Singer isn�t writing all of shit, he�s just slapping his name onto something by the looks of it, and yet the hype�s been incredible. What�s it like to be launching a book when everyone�s too busy talking about C-list famous people doing 1983 X-MEN pastiches? How do you think you can reach people in that sort of environment?

IVAN: I love it. Elevates the game and makes the crowd thirsty for more comics. If Marvel can elevate the number of people in the store than that�s good for us.

MILES: I employ techniques that would attract the CIA so I'd rather not say.

ANDY: I�ve been watching �Lean on Me� over and over again and I think that if Joe Clark can get through to that school, then, well, we might just have a shot. "

Megaphone, baseball bat, and the Marvel Comics booth: Wizard World Chicago 2004. You heard it here first folks.

Go here: http://www.moviepoopshoot.com/interviews/index.html and see AK (formerly of Title Bout) kick out the jams like they ain't never been kicked. Good stuff.

- Chris

Shipping This Week updated at PreviewsReview.com

Hey there, just a quick note to let anyone interested know that the Shipping This Week list at PreviewsReview.com is now updated for books shipping today/Thursday. Our pick of the week is Tristan Crane and Ted Naifeh's HOW LOATHSOME HC, an excellent mini-series that I honestly can't recommend highly enough. It's kind of a slow week for comics too, so you may as well pick up a book that I guarantee is going to be good :)

Oh, I also did a write up on the good books that shipped last week (because I, er, uh, didn't do a Shipping list last week). Anyway, go check it out y'all.

http://www.previewsreview.com

- Christopher