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Dirty Pool: Is Marvel trying to flood DC off the racks?

Retailers reading over their invoices for comics and graphic novels shipping next week will be shocked to discover that Marvel Comics is shipping about 34 titles next week, to only about 17 titles from DC Comics. It’s a rare thing for Marvel to ship that many titles in a week (this week, for example, they only shipped about 17 or so), but to double the output of their closest competitor? That’s very rare indeed… Until you stop to consider that one of DC’s titles shipping next week is the next installment in their summer crossover Final Crisis.

So the question is, would Marvel release 34 superhero books on the same day just to try and bleed fans’ wallets dry on the week where DC tries to make a big push with their flagship book? Well, considering nearly every one of Marvel’s top sellers is dropping this week, I’m going to go ahead and guess here: Oh yeah, that’s exactly what they’re doing. Either that or it’s the sort of hideous oversight that betrays gross incompetence. But it was probably deliberate.

In addition to numerous Marvel comics scheduled to arrive in the month of June that were seemingly pushed from their original on-sale date to this week (including both Bendis Avengers books, both X-Men books, Brubaker’s Captain America & Daredevil, Millar’s Fantastic Four & Marvel 1985, and Ellis’ last Thunderbolts) this week also includes three of Marvel’s largest lateness-plagued titles: Hulk #4, Ultimates 3 #4, and even the final issue of Joss Whedon’s Runaways all drop next Wednesday. Plus another 20 comics. The complete list is below the cut at the end of this post.

About a month ago a bunch of retail ire was raised regarding these seeming ‘flood weeks’ of new product and assurances were made that this situation was being looked at, but it appears that no one is going to be happy with the solution. Retailers heavily invested in the superhero market are particularly vulnerable here, as their invoice for this week’s product is likely to be 2-4 times higher than last week’s invoice, and it is unlikely that their incomes will also be twice-to-four-times what they normally are; this is the sort of cash-flow crunch that can put a retailer right out of business.

In the end, it’s going to be comic book retailers that bear the fiscal brunt of these sort of shipping shenanigans. Most comics retailers have to pay for their books up front with increasingly smaller numbers of retailers getting 7, 14, 21, or 30 day payment terms. Marvel (and DC) are already paid, as will be Diamond comics. Customers can choose to buy their comics over the next week or two or three, however long it takes them to catch their budget up to their purchases. It’s comics retailers who end up sitting on these books the longest, waiting the longest to make the return on their investments, and as many retailers are chronically underfunded to begin with, this is a very serious issue.

This weekend is comic retailer Rory Root’s memorial in San Francisco and unfortunately many of the brighter and better-spoken retailers in the industry will be away from their computers, mourning a friend. I wish I could be there, but I can’t… but I do imagine that when everyone makes it back to their computers later this week the discussion on this subject will be quite lively.

Until then, please go ahead and have your say in the comments. I’m certainly not unbiased when it comes to Marvel, and maybe I’m completely off base here. But when I looked at my invoice and saw that, by quantity, I’m getting more 3 times as many Marvel comics next week as this week, I figured it was worth a post here…

– Christopher
Full list of Marvel and DC floppies shipping next week under the cut.

Continue reading “Dirty Pool: Is Marvel trying to flood DC off the racks?”

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Toronto Tonight: ODE to EDO

Several of my friends in the comics industry (names highlighted below) are participating in a killer art show tonight, and I’m gonna head over and check it out. If you’re in Toronto this evening, you prolly shouldn’t miss this one…

odetoedo-kaganmcleod.jpg

ode-to-edo-invite-303.jpgODE to EDO
Legacy of the Samurai

Opens tonight!

SMASH Gallery
2880 Dundas Street West (at Keele)
June 19th, 7PM to 11PM

See the exquisite collection of 14 Samurai armor sets and paintings by 21 contemporary artists. Today the spirit and visual richness of the Samurai culture speaks to us through films, manga, and personal experience. This collection, with pieces dating back to the 1890s, serves as inspiration for both western and eastern artists. This is our Ode to Edo and the traditions that honoured the samurai essence during this time.

Featuring:

Amro Attia, Harvey Chan, Nathan Fox, Charlotte Greenwood, Hiroshi Hirakawa, Sam Hiti, Kurt Ketchum, Tessar Lo, Kagan Mcleod, Tyrel McNicol, Joe Morse, Jose Ortega, Yukiko Otsu, Ben Shannon, Jon Todd, Tomolennon, Martin Wittfooth, Yoskay Yamamoto, Andrew Zbihlyi, David Pepper.

—

The show runs through June 30th, just in case you get this note a little late. Be sure to check it out.

– Christopher
All illustrations in this post by Kagan McLeod, as part of the ODE to EDO show.

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One more step down the road for the Kodansha rumour…

otomo_akira3.jpgDark Horse Comics’ upcoming book reprints list, which is sent to retailers every Friday and which I referenced in my last post on the subject, featured a change worth noting last week. On it, the upcoming reprint of Katsuhiro Otomo’s AKIRA (which is a Kodansha-licensed title) has disappeared… for North America. Instead, the “Titan” edition for the U.K. is in its place (Akira is co-published in the U.K. by DH and Titan Books). I have independently confirmed that there is no reprint of AKIRA currently scheduled for North America, though there was one announced a month or two back.

While this doesn’t confirm that something is happening, it certainly confirms that something isn’t. For any further comment on the matter someone who isn’t me is going to have to contact Dark Horse.

– Christopher

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Congratulations to Shuster Award Winners

The winners of the 2008 Joe Shuster Awards (for work published in 2007) were announced in a ceremony Saturday evening in the lovely city of Toronto. Here are your winners…!

OUTSTANDING CANADIAN COMIC BOOK WRITER
– Cecil Castellucci for The P.L.A.I.N. Janes (DC/Minx)

OUTSTANDING CANADIAN COMIC BOOK ARTIST
– Dale Eaglesham for Justice Society of America #2-4, 6-7, 9-11 (DC Comics)

OUTSTANDING CANADIAN COMIC BOOK CARTOONIST (WRITER/ARTIST)
– Jeff Lemire for Essex County Vol. 1: Tales From The Farm, Essex County Vol. 2: Ghost Stories (Top Shelf)

OUTSTANDING COVER BY A CANADIAN COMIC BOOK ARTIST
– Steve Skroce for Doc Frankenstein #6 (Burleyman)

OUTSTANDING CANADIAN COMIC BOOK COLOURIST
– Dave McCaig for Nextwave, Agents of H.A.T.E. #12, New Avengers #27-35, Fallen Son – The Death of Captain America #1: Wolverine, Marvel Comics Presents #1-4, Wolverine #50, Avengers Classic #7 (Marvel Comics) DC Infinite Halloween Special #1 (DC Comics), The Other Side #4-5 (DC/Vertigo) Stephen Colbert’s Tek Jensen #1 (ONI Press)

OUTSTANDING CANADIAN COMIC BOOK &/OR GRAPHIC NOVEL PUBLISHER
– Drawn & Quarterly

OUTSTANDING CANADIAN WEBCOMICS CREATOR / CREATIVE TEAM
– Ryan Sohmer and Lar De Souza for Least I Can Do http://www.leasticoulddo.com and Looking for Group http://www.lfgcomic.com

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT BY A CANADIAN RELATED TO COMIC BOOKS
David Watkins for using comic books as a teaching tool

CANADIAN COMIC BOOK CREATOR HALL OF FAME
Stan Berneche
John Byrne
Pierre Fournier
Edwin R. “Ted” McCall

FAVOURITE CANADIAN COMIC BOOK CREATOR – ENGLISH LANGUAGE PUBLICATIONS
Faith Erin Hicks – Zombies Calling

FAVOURITE CANADIAN COMIC BOOK CREATOR – FRENCH LANGUAGE PUBLICATIONS
Philippe Girard aka phlppgrrd – Danger Public

FAVOURITE INTERNATIONAL (NON-CANADIAN) COMIC BOOK CREATOR
Ed Brubaker – Captain America, Criminal, Immortal Iron Fist, Uncanny X-Men

HARRY KREMER OUTSTANDING CANADIAN COMIC BOOK RETAILER
Big B Comics – Hamilton, Ontario

Congratulations to all of the winners, and particularly my friends Cecil Castelucci, Faith Erin Hicks, and Jeff Lemire.

– Chris

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Tokyopop To Stop Publishing Print Versions of OEL books – Updated

According to Rivkah, the creator of OEL/World Manga Steady Beat as published formerly published by Tokyopop, Tokyopop is going to cease publishing print editions of non-licensed work. From her Livejournal:

“Just got off the phone with my editor, and it looks like not-so-good news for Steady Beat. In fact, it looks like not-so-good news for anybody who’s working with TP right now. I’m not sure how much I should say for fear of causing an outright panic with other creators, but essentially, nearly all of Tokyopop’s future books will be going straight to web. This wasn’t a case-by-case scenario. Neither I nor any other single creators were singled out. It looks like the whole line of non-licensed material will cease printing and be promoted online only.” – Rivkah, Livejournal, June 13th 2008

The creator is going to discuss the possibility of regaining the print rights to her work, or at least the (as-yet unpublished) third volume of Steady Beat.

You really ought to go and read the whole thing.

Update June 14, 2008: According to creator Christy Lijewski, not all books are going to the web. She says that the third volume of her series “re:play” will be published by Tokyopop as scheduled. Also, in the comments (scroll down) Lijewski notes “Yeah it really is case by case as some things are getting flat out cancelled (like Bettina’s book) and some things are going to web (like Rivkah’s book) and other things are being left alone.“ Yikes, you know? Just… yikes. Check it out for yourself, http://zombiejam.livejournal.com/119311.html.
– Chris

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Rumour: Kodansha in North America

In the comments section to my previous post, about Tokyopop’s reorg, a poster going by the handle of “Cthulu” dropped the following bomb:

I have hesitated to get involved in this (I am a LONG TIME member of the manga biz) but since Chris has actually written something sensible on teh internets regarding the TP situation, I want to add an important event that has, as far as I can tell, gone practically unreported.

Kodansha is forming their own manga publishing biz over here and says they will no longer be licensing to Del Rey or Dark Horse or anyone else. In fact, they are aggressively cutting off the existing contracts and at least one company had to make a panicked phone call to their printer to cancel several dozen reprints.

This has been in the wind for a couple weeks but it should have leaked out from the BEA, since it was openly announced there. Oddly, no one seems to be discussing it.

Chris, you can contact me at the “disposable” email addy I gave if you’d like to check my bona fides.

One more note: Kodansha plans to begin full scale operation in September 2008, out of Los Angeles, where they will be sharing space and staff with a multimedia division.

Pretty big news eh? Particularly for something that did not get reposted elsewhere. Well after starting in my comments section, this rumour turned into a fight that spilled over into The Beat’s comment section, back to here, and then ended, abruptly. The internet had a lot to chew over this weekend, huh?

I didn’t post anything at the time because I was waiting for some confirmation… At the very least I was hoping for Cthulu to identify themselves to me, but they never responded to the e-mail I sent them, so that’s a bit of a strike right there. I was also hoping for something from independent sources (sources I didn’t have time to contact on my own), but it looks like the folks at the Japananator blog have done some legwork on this one. They talked to Del Rey’s marketing and publicity fella Ali Kokmen.

“After a bit of a laugh at it, Ali told me that it was totally false.” – Brad Rice, Japananator.

There’s a little more to it than that, you should click through the link. Kokmen’s evidence is fairly circumstantial–he hadn’t heard about it and they’re still licensing books from Kodansha–and I wouldn’t put it past any business to make sure their competition is the last one to know. So, I remain unconvinced…

…of course, I also remain unconvinced that it actually will happen. In terms of the canceled reprints mentioned in Cthulu’s comment, I decided to compare Dark Horse Comics’ “Upcoming Reprints List” to see if any titles had been canceled off of it (particularly Kodansha licensed manga). I was surprised to see that they’d actually added six volumes of Lone Wolf and Cub and a couple volumes of Berserk to multiple volume reprints of AKIRA and Blade of the Immortal, all of which are Kodansha titles if I recall correctly. That’s a pretty big commitment to a line that may or may not disappear at any moment. Or perhaps these are the very titles that “one company had to make a panicked phone call to their printer to cancel several dozen reprints”, were the rumour sufficiently exaggerated of course. I’d imagine that the DH reprint list will tell the tale in the coming weeks.

Hopefully I’ll be able to put a phone call out today or tomorrow and clear things up some more…? At any rate, I’d be surprised if it didn’t all shake-out by San Diego.

– Christopher

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Thoughts on Tokyopop’s Contractions

I was trying to refrain from armchair-quarterbacking the Tokyopop contraction because I think when people who do good work lose their jobs no amount of “Well they should have done this differently!” is terribly appropriate, but there’s so much stupidity in response to this announcement on fan forums and comments sections (“They totally should have published Harry Potter manga!”) that I figured I’d try and put something less offensive out there. Apologies in advance, should I fail.

+ A reorganization is considerably better than bankruptcy protection, and I know a few people who thought that was what was coming down the pipe. Which isn’t to say that it won’t, but it hasn’t, and there’s a big difference.

+ 39 employees are being laid off out of a staff of about 100, but that number doesn’t take into account the massive number of freelancers who do translating, lettering and touch-up, etc., that are also going to be out of work. That’s a lot of people affected and that sucks.

+ A cut of releases by 50%. That could mean an overall cut of books (volumes) by 50%, or a cut of individual titles by 50%. Those are two very different things, with various titles on annual, twice, thrice, or four-times annual releases, removing half of the titles wouldn’t necessarily remove half of the releases. This figure is very unclear from their press release or related comment, so let’s talk about the two possibilities:

If it’s titles:

  1. + The vitriol directed at Tokyopop for their OEL program is just short of fucking nuts. If you’re a nerd that upset that Tokyopop is publishing anything other than sourced-from-Japan manga, you really need to get your fucking priorities straight.
  2. + Related: The insane fear and anger that “everything cut will be Japanese manga, and they’re only going to publish “Amerimanga which I hate!!” Again, priorities…
  3. + Related again: They’ve probably paid the licenses for most of the Japanese books already. Tokyopop’s original work, as we learned last week, is generally paid for when Tokyopop accepts the work from the authors and prints it… So if one book is paid for and one they don’t have to pay for unless they print it (but they’ll still own anyway), which do you think is going to see print?
    EDIT JUNE 6TH, 2008: On Wednesday June 5th TP publisher Mike Kiley sent out a note to Tokyopop OEL creators stating that their work would continue to be published, and that they would be paid for their work. I am curious to see how this shakes out. You can see a copy of the e-mail at The Beat.
  4. It’s all about the bookstore sales (see below).

If it’s actually their total output:

  1. + Tokyopop has solicited books in the book trade through the end of the year so far at approximately 50 books per month, which very clearly means that some solicited books are not coming out this year (if ever).
  2. + A cut of releases by 50% for 2008. Well in January through May they released something like 200 books, right? If they release 500 or so books in a year, does that mean you’re going to see 50 books from Tokyopop between now and December? Because…
  3. + The manga licensing fees are generally already paid for, and translation and lettering usually happens months in advance. If they’ve got the next two-three months worth of books done, and they’re cutting their production in half or more, they could just re-stagger the release schedule and release the next three months of solicited books between now and Christmas.
  4. + Hell, they could only release the immediately profitable books from the next three months of their production and space them out for the rest of the year and that would hit the “250 books” number… There’s your worst case scenario.

+ Simon Jones at Icarus points out that the division of publishing and media into separate companies could mean better publishing contracts and being a better publisher. That’s very optimistic and I do not agree.

+ Tokyopop and Viz are releasing 40-50 books a month! That’s insane! Even Del Rey, which in every single discussion I’ve heard is being touted as the new ‘second’ to Viz’s top spot–is only releasing 8-12 books in an average month, and fully half of them would be what you would consider “top tier” licenses. Cannibalization at retail indeed.

+ Borders and Barnes & Noble have stopped ordering certain manga titles for the shelf entirely. I think it’s pretty obvious that anything not getting immediate bookstore distro won’t get continued, considering the book market counts for something like 75% of sales of certain titles.

+ Hell, I’m pretty sure that at one point TP wouldn’t even license a title if Borders wasn’t going to order a bunch of it… I know I’ve been told that, but I can’t remember if anyone ever said it in print or not…

The following is all in response to: http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/bbs/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=60188

Dragon Head Volume 6 Cover+ A gentle reminder: Just because something is good does not mean it sells well or will not be canceled outright.

+ …and just to reiterate, just because something has been solicited does not mean it is coming out.

+ Some mensa member deriding TP for publishing too many “fanworks”. As opposed to, you know, graphic novels. Unreal. I wonder if they realize that they’re part of the problem?

+ Said mensa member does have a point about the absolute uselessness of Tokyopop’s website. I honestly do not understand why they would have a website that actually makes it difficult to find their own product. Scratch that, I do understand, but they’re wrong for doing it.

+ “If we’re going to point fingers, then point them first at the people who go in and read manga at the store, but don’t buy (and I’m not talking one or two titles, I mean they do this EVERY chance they get).” also: internet thieves. Good point “darcerin“.

+ “It seems they’re not licencing as much from Japan as they used to, and what they do licence is mediocre. I suspect because they don’t have to pay translators etc for OEL, but they can sell it for the same price, ergo more profit. In theory anyways.” – This bit of business theory courtesy of st_owly. I know I can stop reading at any time and that this stupid shit is corroding my soul, but this potent combination of fan-entitlement and outright stupidity is what keeps my righteous indignation going.

+ Holy shit, it’s actual content courtesy of ex-Tokyopop staffer Peter Ahlstrom:

“The final volume of Grenadier already went to press, so no worries there. I really don’t know for sure what titles will be sticking around, but a large percentage of the axed titles will be Korean titles because those have been selling poorly. I would not be surprised to see Rebirth discontinued. Beck has also underperformed, but only time will tell.

“If I were still working there, I would probably know sooner. 🙂 I hope the titles I loved working on will be spared, because I at least want to keep collecting them.“

+ “It’s bad enough Levy is still on board, so this means we’re probably gonna be subjected to more Princess Ai in the future.” I’m almost with you there kid, but seeing as it’s Levy’s company I imagine he’ll be around for a little while…

+ I don’t claim to have all the answers here, but I’m just constantly amazed by the indignation of children without two clues to rub together making these entirely baseless pronouncements… On that note, here’s three amazing pieces of wrong from the same quote from “Grico“:

“Yeah, I think the biggest worry for me is that they might decide to focus on the OEL books since they are much cheaper to make. … some things might stick until the license runs out to try to recoup costs (I’m thinking of the American licensed stuff here like Familiy Guy). It will be interesting to see if there are any license sales to other manga companies, such as when ADV sold off the Tactics anime license.“

Dear “Grico”: OEL are not ‘cheaper’, Tokypop has produced exactly one Family Guy Cine-manga… in 2004, and ADV did not sell of the Tactics anime license, they “sold off” the manga license, and even then they didn’t “sell it off” so much as it expired and Tokypop licensed it from the original Japanese publisher. Congrats, you’ve made the worst post I’ve read so far.

+ Another genius (from Texas!) demands that TP embrace Wal-Mart, and sell everything at cost because manga and anime are too expensive. Bravo.

+ In the defense of this message board, there are a lot of kind people popping up expressing sympathy for the folks losing their jobs, which is really heartening.

—

So there, there’s my attempt to stem the tide of disinformation, for all the good it will do.

– Christopher

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Book Expo Canada: June 13-16, 2008 (featuring Me)

Book Expo Canada, the Maple-Leaf counterpart to this weekend’s just-completed Book Expo America is June 13-16 2008, and is comprised of a trade show (booths) and conference (panels). Attempting to appeal (and be invaluable) to every aspect of the industry, Book Expo Canada is very much the little-sister of the sprawling BEA, but I always enjoy going, and am looking forward to next weekend. Their website is http://www.bookexpo.ca/.

So earlier this year I was approached by Book Expo to help develop their graphic novel programming for 2008, and I think it’s going to turn out very well indeed. Because I know that many industry types are readers of the blog, I did want to point out the two graphic novel programs that I’ll be moderating in case they’re of interest. I think both of them are going to be quite solid, and they’ll be happening right out in the middle of the show floor so they’ll be hard to miss.

Hopefully I’ll see you in the audience!

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Building a Great Graphic Novel Collection in Your Library
Sunday, June 15th 4:00 – 5:00 pm
Link to the BookExpo website.
Balancing classic graphic novel must-haves with in-demand new releases, and more.

Libraries have contributed to the rapid growth of the graphic novel industry, and in turn graphic novels have brought record circulation numbers to school and public libraries across the country! This informative panel will help librarians of all stripes understand this burgeoning medium, addressing the important issues of collection-building, content concerns, and navigating the depths of the thousands of graphic novels released every year. Moderated by Christopher Butcher, manager of The Beguiling Books & Art and writer for comics212.net.

Participants:
Jason Azzopardi, Beguiling Library Services Administrator
Cameron Drew, Canadian Manda Group/Diamond
Moneka Hewlett, Senior Director Sales, Publishing & Home Entertainment for Viz Media
Diana Maliszewski, Teacher-Librarian, TDSB
Michael Martens, Dark Horse Books
Alan Payne, IDW
Scott Robins, KidsCan Press

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Stocking and Hand-Selling Comics & Graphic Novels
Monday, June 16th 11:30 am – 12:30 pm
Link to the BookExpo website.

With manga and other graphic novels demanding more and more shelf-space in bookstores everywhere, it is growing ever more difficult to find a “way in” to this category for booksellers, and to be able to effectively sell this category to their clientele. This panel of experts from all aspects of the comics industry will discuss the ins and outs of graphic novel stocking, recommendations, shelving and display, and answer any questions from booksellers looking to better understand this category. Moderated by Christopher Butcher, manager of The Beguiling Books & Art and writer for comics212.net.

Participants:
Peter Birkemoe, The Beguiling
Cameron Drew, Canadian Manda Group/Diamond
Moneka Hewlett, Senior Director Sales, Publishing & Home Entertainment for Viz Media
Michael Martens, Dark Horse Books
Alan Payne, IDW
Jim Zubkavich, UDON

Graphic Novel Programming Sponsored by The Beguiling Books & Art

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Huh.

From: http://www.icv2.com/articles/news/12677.html

“Manga giant Tokyopop announced this morning that it is spinning off its comics-to-film and digital units into a new company, Tokyopop Media LLC; publishing operations will remain in Tokyopop Inc.  

 

“Publishing production will be reduced by roughly 50% through the rest of the year, reducing output to roughly 200-225 titles per year from a planned total of over 500 titles. Tokyopop CEO and Chief Creative Officer of the Tokyopop Group, Stuart Levy, explained the reasons for the reduction in output.  “The time is now for us to focus our publishing business to overcome current market challenges.  Few releases will allow for less cannibalization at retail.” “

How about that.

I hope my friends at TP are still gainfully employed by the end of the week…
– Chris

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Chris Picks the 2008 Eisners

will-eisner-photo.jpg

Actually, I’m not so much picking the winners as picking the books I want to win… I realize that my tastes and those of the voting public are very different, in general, but what the hell, let’s Rock The Vote! Speaking of which, to take my word for it and go vote yourself, check out http://www.eisnervote.com/ only comics industry professionals are eligible, but chances are you’re a comics industry professional, so go for it!

townofeveningcalm.jpgBest Short Story
“Book,” by Yuichi Yokoyama, in New Engineering (PictureBox)
“At Loose Ends,” by Lewis Trondheim, in Mome #8 (Fantagraphics)
“Mr. Wonderful,” by Dan Clowes, in New York Times Sunday Magazine
“Town of Evening Calm,” by Fumiyo Kouno, in Town of Evening Calm, Country of Cherry Blossoms (Last Gasp)
“Whatever Happened to Fletcher Hanks?” by Paul Karasik, in I Shall Destroy All the Civilized Planets! (Fantagraphics)
“Young Americans,” by Emile Bravo, in Mome #8 (Fantagraphics)

Despite some truly solid (and surprising) selections in this category, Town of Evening Calm is both excellent and Important thanks to its weighty insights into tragedy and human nature, and general under-ratedness. A category this strong doesn’t come along too often and anything here probably could have taken this category, it’s all fantastic stuff. That said, I’d be surprised if Karasik’s Whatever Happened to Fletcher Hanks doesn’t win.

sensationalspiderman.jpgBest Single Issue (or One-Shot)
Amelia Rules! #18: “Things I Cannot Change,” by Jimmy Gownley (Renaissance)
Delilah Dirk and the Treasure of Constantinople, by Tony Cliff (self-published)
Johnny Hiro #1, by Fred Chao (AdHouse)
Justice League of America #11: “Walls,” by Brad Meltzer and Gene Ha (DC)
Sensational Spider-Man Annual: “To Have or to Hold,” by Matt Fraction and Salvador Larroca (Marvel)

Not to diss the excellent Johnny Hiro #1, but Fraction and Larroca brought their a-game to this one, and it shows. This is also something of a protest vote, considering Casanova wasn’t nominated for anything… To be fair, I haven’t read Tony Cliff’s mini.

Best Continuing Series
The Boys, by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson (Dynamite)
Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Season 8, by Joss Whedon, Brian K. Vaughan, Georges Jeanty, and Andy Owens (Dark Horse)
Naoki Urasawa’s Monster, by Naoki Urasawa (Viz)
The Spirit, by Darwyn Cooke (DC)
Y: The Last Man, by Brian K. Vaughan, Pia Guerra, and Jose Marzan, Jr. (Vertigo/DC)

I guess my manga fandom is showing here, but despite solid efforts from Ennis and Cooke, there’s one book that gets everyone at the store genuinely excited when it shows up at the store, and that’s Monster. It’s an amazingly well put-together comic, and the number one story I’d recommend to someone who thinks that they aren’t a “manga fan” now that Dragon Head is over. Actually, that said, Monster is better-drawn and more accessible, I think, than Dragon Head, so it’s got that going for it too. This is going to be a tough category…

umbrellaacademy.jpg

Best Limited Series
Atomic Robo, by Brian Clevinger and Scott Wegender (Red 5 Comics)
Dark Tower: The Gunslinger Born, by Peter David, Robin Furth, and Jae Lee (Marvel)
Nightly News, by Jonathan Hickman (Image)
Parade (with Fireworks), by Michael Cavallaro (Shadowline/Image)
The Umbrella Academy, by Gerard Way and Gabriel Bá (Dark Horse)

Surprise hit of the year. I’ve only read the first few Atomic Robo and they were good, but Umbrella Academy takes it by virtue of being both surprisingly good and having a great ending.

johnny-hiro.jpgBest New Series
Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Season 8, by Joss Whedon, Brian K. Vaughan, Georges Jeanty, and Andy Owens (Dark Horse)
Immortal Iron Fist, by Ed Brubaker, Matt Fraction, David Aja, and others (Marvel)
Johnny Hiro, by Fred Chao (AdHouse)
The Infinite Horizon, by Gerry Duggan and Phil Noto (Image)
Scalped, by Jason Aaron and R. M. Guéra (Vertigo/DC)

This was actually a tough one for me, because Infinite Horizon and Iron Fist are still in my to-read pile, and Buffy Season 8 is shockingly good (and sells bucketloads). But Johnny Hiro really is a solid read, and I’m glad to see an entirely indy ongoing single-issue series do well, so it’s getting a ‘political’ vote from me…

yotsuba-volume-1.jpgBest Publication for Kids
Amelia Rules! and Amelia Rules! Funny Stories, by Jimmy Gownley (Renaissance)
Star Wars: Clone Wars Adventures, edited by Jeremy Barlow (Dark Horse)
Mouse Guard: Fall 1152 and Mouse Guard: Winter 1152, by David Petersen (Archaia)
The Wall: Growing Up Behind the Iron Curtain, by Peter Sis (Frank Foster Books/Farrar, Straus & Giroux)
Yotsuba&!, by Kiyohiko Azuma (ADV)

No contest.

northwest-passage.jpgBest Publication for Teens
Laika, by Nick Abadzis (First Second)
The Mighty Skullboy Army, by Jacob Chabot (Dark Horse)
The Annotated Northwest Passage, by Scott Chantler (Oni)
PX! Book One: A Girl and Her Panda, by Manny Trembley and Eric A. Anderson (Shadowline/Image)
Satchel Paige: Striking Out Jim Crow, by James Sturm and Rich Tommaso (Center for Cartoon Studies/Hyperion)

Aw man, that’s really tough. First off, I think it’s important to note that three of the entries here are historical fiction, which is probably a rarity in a “best publication for teens” category. Also, the lack of Naruto is sort of galling. All of that aside, for me it came down to Laika, Northwest Passage, and Satchel Paige, all of which are really great books that I would recommend. The tie-breaker was that I voted for the Canadian book, because that’s how I roll.

Also, I wouldn’t normally take time out to slam a book, but I’m going to make a special allowance here: PX! is a truly, truly awful book, and it is downright depressing that it has received an Eisner nomination.

perrybiblefellowshipbook13825.jpgBest Humor Publication
Dwight T. Albatross’s The Goon Noir, edited by Matt Dryer (Dark Horse)
Johnny Hiro, by Fred Chao (AdHouse)
Lucha Libre, by Jerry Frissen, Bill, Gobi, Fabien M., Nikola Witko, Hervé Tanquelle et al. (Image)
Perry Bible Fellowship: The Trial of Colonel Sweeto and Other Stories, by Nicholas Gurewitch (Dark Horse)
Wonton Soup, by James Stokoe (Oni)

Man, I know the mainstream comics contingent is all over The Goon, which is a solid read, but Perry Bible Fellowship is just so, so good that I can’t imagine anything even coming close. Well, except for next year when Achewood: The Great Outdoor Fight takes the category in a landslide…

mome_7.jpgBest Anthology
Best American Comics 2007, edited by Anne Elizabeth Moore and Chris Ware (Houghton Mifflin)
5, by Gabriel Bá, Becky Cloonan, Fabio Moon, Vasilis Lolos, and Rafael Grampa (self-published)
Mome, edited by Gary Groth and Eric Reynolds (Fantagraphics)
Postcards: True Stories That Never Happened, edited by Jason Rodriguez (Villard)
24Seven, vol. 2, edited by Ivan Brandon (Image)

Everything I want from an anthology, even when I’m disappointed with or confused by their choices I can still respect them, and several volumes of this were absolutely top-notch. Add Mome to your purchases today.

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Best Digital Comic
The Abominable Charles Christopher, by Karl Kerschl, www.abominable.transmission-x.com
Billy Dogma, Immortal, by Dean Haspiel, www.deanhaspiel.com/immortal.html
The Process, by Joe Infurnari, www.theprocesscomic.com
PX! By Manny Trembley and Eric A. Anderson, www.pandaxpress.com
Sugarshock!, by Joss Whedon and Fabio Moon, http://www.myspace.com/darkhorsepres…m=1&storynum=2

I can’t even conceive of how Joss Whedon will lose this one, and I’m kind of amazed that the print collection of Perry Bible Fellowship could be nominated for a great book, but not as a ‘digital comic’. That and fucking “Panda Extreme” shows up again, tunder’n jaysus. I’m writing in Achewood, by Chris Onstad for what I hope are obvious reasons, no disrespect to my nominated friends.

whiterapids.jpgBest Reality-Based Work
Laika, by Nick Abadzis (First Second)
The Magical Life of Long Tack Sam, by Ann Marie Fleming (Riverhead Books/Penguin Group)
Satchel Paige: Striking Out Jim Crow, by James Sturm and Rich Tommaso (Center for Cartoon Studies/Hyperion)
Sentences: The Life of MF Grimm, by Percy Carey and Ronald Wimberly (Vertigo/DC)
White Rapids, by Pascal Blanchet (Drawn & Quarterly)

Uh, heh, despite still liking Laika and Satchel Paige… White Rapids is really, really good. Truly beautiful and unique, delivering a wholly conceived experience to the reader. Most interestingly, White Rapids is one of my husband’s fav comics from 2007 as well, he took to it surprisingly quickly and thought it was fantastic. He’s not a big comics reader, but I do think it’s interesting to see what he reacts to and why…

exitwounds.jpgBest Graphic Album—New
The Arrival, by Shaun Tan (Arthur A. Levine/Scholastic)
Bookhunter, by Jason Shiga (Sparkplug Books)
Essex County, vols. 1-2: Tales from the Farm/Ghost Stories, by Jeff Lemire (Top Shelf)
Exit Wounds, by Rutu Modan (Drawn & Quarterly)
Percy Gloom, by Cathy Malkasian (Fantagraphics)

Top notch. I liked Lemire’s work a great deal, and Shiga’s book is pretty fantastic as well, but I just think Exit Wounds is really thoroughly conceived and executed, and it spoke to me in a way that the other books didn’t…

Still, congrats to my friend Jeff Lemire for what’s probably the most prestigious award nomination on the list, and on his second and third books ever!

godgoldgolems.jpgBest Graphic Album—Reprint
Agents of Atlas Hardcover, by Jeff Parker, Leonard Kirk, and Kris Justice (Marvel)
Gødland Celestial Edition, by Joe Casey and Tom Scioli (Image)
James Sturm’s America: God, Gold, and Golems, by James Sturm (Drawn & Quarterly)
Mouse Guard: Fall 1152, by David Petersen (Archaia)
Super Spy, by Matt Kindt (Top Shelf)

While this is either the second or third edition of some of this material, I thought that this collection was surprisingly underrated when it was released this year. Sturm’s The Golem’s Mighty Swing is a fantastic work, and it and the other two stories collected here are some pretty amazing comics material… No disrespect intended to any of the other nominees, but I think Sturm’s work is really a cut above.

littlesammysneeze.jpgBest Archival Collection/Project—Comic Strips
(The Complete) Dream of the Rarebit Fiend, by Winsor McCay (Ulrich Merkl)
Complete Terry and the Pirates, vol. 1, by Milton Caniff (IDW)
Little Sammy Sneeze, by Winsor McCay (Sunday Press)
Popeye, vol. 2: Well Blow Me Down, by E. C. Segar (Fantagraphics)
Sundays with Walt and Skeezix, by Frank King (Sunday Press)

While the sheer size and overall quality of Sundays with Walt and Skeezix is truly impressive and will likely make it a shoe-in for the award, I think the Little Sammy Sneeze collection is actually a better book. It’s complete, which is a point in its favour, and its production is unique offering more than just a collection of the work, but insight into the time and world in which the strips were published through other period-appropriate strips also published in the book (it even comes with a decorative tissue-box cover!) Granted, on that front the superlative amount of work going into D+Q’s Walt and Skeezix collection should have made it the winner as each volume contains more than 90 pages of extra material, but somehow it didn’t make the nom list… I feel like these awards really do come down to having someone on the nomination committee to champion a work…

ishalldestroy.jpgBest Archival Collection/Project—Comic Books
Amazing Spider-Man Omnibus, vol. 1, by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko (Marvel)
Apollo’s Song, by Osamu Tezuka (Vertical)
The Completely MAD Don Martin, by Don Martin (Running Press)
Daredevil Omnibus, by Frank Miller and Klaus Janson (Marvel)
I Shall Destroy All the Civilized Planets! by Fletcher Hanks (Fantagraphics)

Easy win.

garageband.jpgBest U.S. Edition of International Material
The Arrival, by Shaun Tan (Arthur A. Levine/Scholastic)
Aya, by Marguerite Abouet and Clement Obrerie (Drawn & Quarterly)
Garage Band, by Gipi (First Second)
I Killed Adolf Hitler, by Jason (Fantagraphics)
The Killer, by Matz and Luc Jacamon (Archaia)

Man, this is all good stuff. Like, really good. I was really tempted not to pick Garage Band because the English edition is so much smaller than the European edition, and consequently loses ‘something’ in the reduction in size (in my humble opinion), but it’s still excellent so I’ll try not to nitpick it out of the running. But honestly, this book deserved to be printed at its original size… hopefully as First Second matures they can go back and do ‘special editions’ of some of their earlier works in something approaching the European format…

I also recommend you run right out and read Aya which is an excellent, excellent read. Jason’s I Killed Adolf Hitler is also a career highpoint, but I feel like everyone should be buying his stuff anyway… Geez, tough category. Particularly since The Arrival will probably take it…

Tekkon Kinkreet All In One Edition

Best U.S. Edition of International Material—Japan
The Ice Wanderer and Other Stories, by Jiro Taniguchi (Fanfare/Ponent Mon)
MW, by Osamu Tezuka (Vertical)
Naoki Urasawa’s Monster, by Naoki Urasawa (Viz)
New Engineering by Yuichi Yokoyama (PictureBox)
Tekkonkinkreet: Black & White, by Taiyo Matsumoto (Viz)
Town of Evening Calm, Country of Cherry Blossoms, by Fumiyo Kouno (Last Gasp)

As soon as I saw Tekkon Kinkreet I knew I’d have to pick it, it’s a truly phenomenal edition of the material with all of the colour pages restored, additional art and illustrations, a superior book-size, and a bunch of extras. Oh, and the graphic novel itself is fantastic.

But all of these books are fucking great, and excellent reminder of what a great time it is to be a manga reader in North America. All of these are worth your time and money, no lie. Run out and buy them all from the magical store that has them all in stock at once. Or, you know, The Beguiling.

ed_brubaker.jpgBest Writer
Ed Brubaker, Captain America, Criminal, Daredevil, Immortal Iron Fist (Marvel)
James Sturm, Satchel Paige: Striking Out Jim Crow (Center for Cartoon Studies/Hyperion)
Brian K. Vaughan, Buffy the Vampire Slayer (Dark Horse); Ex Machina (WildStorm/DC), Y: The Last Man (Vertigo/DC),
Joss Whedon, Astonishing X-Men (Marvel); Buffy the Vampire Slayer (Dark Horse)
Brian Wood, DMZ, Northlanders (Vertigo/DC); Local (Oni)

Well, the book I enjoyed most up there is Criminal, so 2007’s best writer must have been Brubaker. Awards are weird.

chrisware.jpgBest Writer/Artist
Jeff Lemire, Essex County: Tales from the Farm/Ghost Stories (Top Shelf)
Rutu Modan, Exit Wounds (Drawn & Quarterly)
Shaun Tan, The Arrival (Arthur A. Levine/Scholastic)
Chris Ware, Acme Novelty Library #18 (Acme Novelty)
Fumi Yoshinaga, Flower of Life; The Moon and Sandals (Digital Manga)

Uh… yeah. I mean, everyone else here is clearly very talented, but… Chris Ware?! Yikes. I also think it’s kind of weird that Darwyn Cooke didn’t get a nom in this category for The Spirit…

brandongraham.jpgBest Writer/Artist—Humor
Kyle Baker, The Bakers: Babies and Kittens (Image)
Fred Chao, Johnny Hiro (AdHouse)
Brandon Graham, King City (Tokyopop); Multiple Warheads (Oni)
Eric Powell, The Goon (Dark Horse)
James Stokoe, Wonton Soup (Oni)

I wonder if Kyle Baker and Eric Powell will cancel each other out? Anyway, Brandon Graham totally hit this year, and his stuff is fun, funny, and sexy. That said I just gotta bitch here: How the fuck did Mal not get nominated for Scott Pilgrim? That shit is retarded. I’d demand a write-in but that would likely be pointless. I almost, almost, want to go and check to see who was on the nominating committee, but I’ll try not to be that petty or vengeful. But seriously, what the fuck?

Outbursts like this are why I’ll likely never be an Eisner judge. I’d rather keep it real though. Or something. Christ, this is a bad idea isn’t it? Oh well. Too late to turn back now.

takeshi-obata.jpgBest Penciller/Inker or Penciller/Inker Team
Steve Epting/Butch Guice/Mike Perkins, Captain America (Marvel)
Pia Guerra/Jose Marzan, Jr., Y: The Last Man (Vertical/DC)
Jae Lee, Dark Tower: The Gunslinger Born (Marvel)
Takeshi Obata, Death Note, Hikaru No Go (Viz)
Ethan Van Sciver, Green Lantern: Sinestro Corps (DC)

That’s just a weird choice, so what the hell… it’s not like he’s not incredibly talented…

Actually, it’s at times like these I don’t envy the folks in charge of the Eisner Awards, trying to determine what is or isn’t eligible across a spectrum of comics projects so broad that most classifications are essentially meaningless…

sa400293.jpg

Best Painter or Multimedia Artist (interior art)
Ann-Marie Fleming, The Magical Life of Long Tack Sam (Riverhead Books/Penguin Group)
Eric Powell, The Goon: Chinatown (Dark Horse)
Bryan Talbot, Alice in Sunderland (Dark Horse)
Ben Templesmith, Fell (Image); 30 Days of Night: Red Snow; Wormwood: Gentleman Corpse (IDW)

Props to Templesmith, he’s a talented guy, but it’s rare that you get to describe a book as a “Tour-de-Force” and Alice in Sunderland totally qualifies. If you’ve got thirty bucks burning a hole in your pocket, it’s worth owning.

jamesjean.jpgBest Cover Artist
John Cassaday, Astonishing X-Men (Marvel); Lone Ranger (Dynamite)
James Jean, Fables (Vertigo/DC); The Umbrella Academy (Dark Horse); Process Recess 2; Superior Showcase 2 (AdHouse)
J. G. Jones, 52 (DC)
Jae Lee, Dark Tower: The Gunslinger Born (Marvel)
Jim Lee, All Star Batman and Robin the Boy Wonder (DC); World of Warcraft (WildStorm/DC)

All of these fellows are quite talented, turning out some solid cover art, but how can you not love what James Jean is doing…?

davestewart.jpgBest Coloring
Jimmy Gownley, Amelia Rules! (Renaissance)
Steve Hamaker, Bone, vols. 5 and 6 (Scholastic); Shazam: Monster Society of Evil (DC)
Richard Isanove, Dark Tower: The Gunslinger Born (Marvel)
Ronda Pattison, Atomic Robo (Red 5 Comics)
Dave Stewart, BPRD, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Cut, Hellboy, Lobster Johnson, The Umbrella Academy (Dark Horse); The Spirit (DC)
Alex Wald, Shaolin Cowboy (Burlyman)

Amelia Rules for best colouring? Are you serious? It’s not bad, but… wow, could not have seen that coming. Meanwhile, Dave Stewart is just awesome, working in a number of different styles and moods depending on the book. he works on. Not to take anything away from the other artist, but Stewart’s just top-notch. My second-choice would go to Hamaker who I think started out awesome on Bone, and has only gotten better with every book.

…and I didn’t pick a picture of Stewart winning the award in 2006 as any sort of justification for him winning in 2007, it’s just the only picture of him I could find online. Although, it is a pretty good justification…

toddklien.jpgBest Lettering
Jared K. Fletcher, Catwoman, The Spirit (DC); Sentences: Life of MF Grimm (Vertigo/DC)
Jimmy Gownley, Amelia Rules! (Renaissance)
Todd Klein, Justice, Simon Dark (DC); Fables, Jack of Fables, Crossing Midnight (Vertigo/DC); League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: The Black Dossier (WildStorm/DC); Nexus (Rude Dude)
Lewis Trondheim, “At Loose Ends,” Mome 7 & 8 (Fantagraphics)
Chris Ware, Acme Novelty Library #18 (Acme Novelty)

Okay, Gownley for best lettering too? I know this is going to look like I’m attacking him or his work, and I’m not, but sometimes having someone pulling for your book on the nominating committee isn’t necessarily a good thing… The nominations just end up looking strange when someone decides that they like your book SO MUCH that they get it nominated in every category it’s eligible for. Anyway, whatever, please don’t send hatemail. But yeah, it just looks weird to me.

But then I’m the kind of asshole that wants to see Chris Ware get the best lettering award again, so I can be safely ignored.

jamie-tanner.jpgSpecial Recognition
Chuck BB, Black Metal (artist, Oni)
Matt Silady, The Homeless Channel (writer/artist, AiT/PlanetLar)
Jamie Tanner, The Aviary (writer/artist, AdHouse)
James Vining, First in Space (writer/artist, Oni)

On my ballot I selected Chuck BB, and he’s a solid choice but the more I think about it the more I realize that Jamie Tanner is doing something really different with his work, and it’s kind of unsettling and it has a lot of potential. I feel like he probably needs the special recognition a little more than the other guys…

sa400297.jpg

comicart-issue9cover.jpg

Best Comics-Related Periodical/Journalism
Comic Art #9, edited by Todd Hignite (Buenaventura Press)
Comic Foundry, edited by Tim Leong (Comic Foundry)
The Comics Journal, edited by Gary Groth, Michael Dean, and Kristy Valenti (Fantagraphics)
The Comics Reporter, produced by Tom Spurgeon and Jordan Raphael (www.comicsreporter.com)
Newsarama, produced by Matt Brady and Michael Doran (www.newsarama.com)

Although I didn’t like the cover, I think there’s just a consistent vision and execution with Comic Art that’s really, really impressive, and aspirational. I feel like it’s perhaps a little too esoteric at times and seeing where the magazine goes with the next issue will be very interesting. I also think the Journal has a lot of potential, if it can just get its shit together… Honestly, the elephant in the room is The Comics Reporter, because Spurgeon is doing some amazing, amazing stuff. I feel if that site was distilled down to a 300 page glossy magazine every year it’d be no contest (actually, that’s not a bad idea). But it’s not, and so…

Photo of Comic Art publisher Alvin Buenaventura at San Diego Comic Con 2007.

mangathecompleteguide.jpgBest Comics-Related Book
The Art of P. Craig Russell, edited by Joe Pruett (Desperado)
The Artist Within, by Greg Preston (Dark Horse)
Manga: The Complete Guide, by Jason Thompson (Del Rey Manga)
Meanwhile . . . A Biography of Milton Caniff, by R. C. Harvey (Fantagraphics)
Reading Comics: How Graphic Novels Work and What They Mean, by Douglas Wolk (Da Capo Press)
Understanding Manga and Anime, by Robin Brenner (Libraries Unlimited/Greenwood Publishing)

This is a really, really tough category to pick because these books are miles apart from one another in terms of aims and production. It’s apples to oranges here, and so I just picked the only one I’ve read all the most of so far. Which isn’t to say that Jason Thompson’s massive manga tome isn’t deserving of a win; it’s awesome and should get all kinds of awards. But R.C. Harvey’s Milton Caniff biography is an intimidating achievement, a 900 page biography of a cartooning great that I am never going to find time to read in my entire life. Or an art book, or a photo book, or a couple books of essays. Maybe the medium is big enough for a couple of sub-categories here?

process-front.jpgBest Publication Design
(The Complete) Dream of the Rarebit Fiend, designed by Ulrich Merkl (Ulrich Merkl)
Complete Terry and the Pirates, designed by Dean Mullaney (IDW)
Heroes, vol. 1, designed by John Roshell/Comicraft (WildStorm/DC)
Little Sammy Sneeze, designed by Philippe Ghielmetti (Sunday Press)
Process Recess 2, designed by James Jean and Chris Pitzer (AdHouse)
Sundays with Walt and Skeezix, designed by Chris Ware (Sunday Press)

I honestly think Process Recess 2 is a nicer book than the big Walt and Skeezix. I know this is heresy, but PR2 is inviting, Sundays is intimidating, and that’s where the break is. Of course, both Rarebit Fiend and Sammy Sneeze are both beautiful, beautiful books that should win awards as well. We’re lucky to live in a time when such care and attention is placed on making great books look beautiful…!

—

…and we’re done! How wrong did I get it? Feel free to let me have it in the comments section, I can take it.

– Christopher

Photo credits: Top photo of Will Eisner from http://www.montillapictures.com/. Achewood strip from http://www.achewood.com. Photo of Ed Brubaker from http://centralcrimezone.blogspot.com/2008/03/ed-brubaker-interview-by-duane.html. Chris Ware self-portrait by Chris Ware. Photo of Brandon Graham by ?? (I can’t find the attribution, contact me if this is your photo.) Photo of Takeshi Obata from http://student.nu.ac.th/deathnote/Magaka.html. Photo of Bryan Talbot by Christopher Butcher. Photo of Dave Stewart from Silver Bullet Comics, http://www.silverbulletcomics.com/news/story.php?a=542. Photo of Todd Klein by Todd Klein. Jamie Tanner @ TCAF, photo by Tugboat Press, http://www.flickr.com/photos/tugboatpress/. Photo of Alvin Buenaventura by Christopher Butcher. All book covers copyright © and trademark their respective owners.