Creator Controversy- From Tintin to Sonic

In an interview published by the Belgian edition of Paris Match magazine, Fanny Rodwell, the widow of Hergé-the creator of Tintin-, declared herself against the publication of a new album featuring the character.

 According to her, it’s necessary to respect the author’s wishes, that he didn’t want other new albums to be released after his death. Hergé passed away in 1983.

The declaration is controversial, because it contradicts the message of her current husband, Nick Rodwell, the administrator of Moulinsart, the company that cares for the work of Hergé. He defends the necessity of protecting the author’s rights ti the work, so that it wouldn’t fall into public domain so early.

Tentatively, a new album is planned for the faraway year of 2052. Before this, Moulinsart and Casterman intend to rerelease unfinished stories of the hero and versions of old books accompanied with new theoretical material.

Fanny Rodwell was born in 1934, in Brussels, Belgium. Her maiden name was Fanny Vlamynck. She was the colorist at Hergé’s studio and married the artist in 1977, when he divorced from his first wife, Germaine Kieckens. In 1993, she remarried to an Englishman, Nick Rodwell.

Rodwell is a controversial figure in France and Belgium, often criticized by the fans and company. He was the first to open a store dedicated to Tintin, in England.

(Original article: Viúva de Hergé é contra álbum inédito dopersonagem, written by Sérgio Codespoti on May 14, 2014. Republished and translated with permission by UniversoHQ)

Estate battles against publishers are nothing new. Jack Kirby, Bill Finger, Joe Shuster,  Jerry Siegel, and even Stan Lee's estate have had public, drawn out legal battles with their former employers who continue to utilize what the creators created, many years ago. Recently, the living Ken Penders sued Sega and Archie Comics for creator rights for the characters he created in the comic based on the Sonic the Hedgehog video games. His characters are now absent from the long running series as he attempts to reuse them in other mediums. 

Popping Up Like Rabbits: Happy Easter

Today is Easter. Culture of Comics wants to take the opportunity to take a look at six notable rabbits who originated in comics. 

Bunnie Rabbot (Sonic the Hedgehog)

Bunnie Rabbot first appeared in Sonic the Hedgehog #3(October 1993) by Archie Comics. She appeared months later in the DIC cartoon, Sonic the Hedgehog, alongside other Freedom Fighters fighting against Doctor Robotnik. Half roboticized cyborg, half rabbit with a Southern drawl: the Rabbot has appeared as a loyal ally and even got married within the pages of the comic that won the Guinness World Record for the longest running comic book based on a video game.

Johnny Lightfoot (Sonic the Comic)

Across the pond, Sonic the Comic, published by Fleetway Editions, had its own rabbit character: Johnny Lightfoot. The character was created by Nigel Kitching and Richard Elson. The character, also an ally in the fight against Doctor Robotnik, tragically died  at the end of the series. Sonic the Comic ran from 1993-2002 and lives on in a fan made website with contributions from the original creators.

Miyamoto Usagi (Usagi Yojimbo)

Miyamoto Usagi was created by Stan Sakai. A masterless samurai(ronin), he was Inspired by Miyamoto Musashi. His story, an episodic look at a mystical Japan filled with all kinds of different animals(including dinosaurs) first appeared in Albedo Anthropomorphics #2 published by Thoughts and Images in November 1984. Since then, the ronin has appeared in Radio Comix, Mirage Studios, Fantagraphics Books, and currently, Dark Horse Comics. Usagi got his fame in cameos with the Ninja Turtles, appearing in the 80s cartoon, the 2003 4Kids revival, action figure lines and video games. Often misnamed as the series he stars in, Usagi Yojimbo means Rabbit Bodyguard in Japanese.

Hoppy the Marvel Bunny (Captain Marvel)

A popular genre in comics was, and still is, talking animals. Fawcett Comics, the creators of Captain Marvel, created Fawcett’s Funny Animals in 1942, staring Hoppy, created by Chad Gothkopf. Like Captain Marvel, Hoppy shouts ‘Shazam’ and gains magical powers granted by the gods. The properties were sold to Charlton Comics and the character’s name was changed to Magic Bunny. The Marvels finally found their home with DC Comics, appearing in various comics.

Captain Carrot (Captain Carrot and His Amazing Zoo Crew)

Captain Carrot (and his Amazing Zoo Crew) first appeared in a 1982 issue of Teen Titans. He was created by Scott Shaw! And Roy Thomas. Originally Roger Rabbit, Rodney Rabbit is a writer and artist (an allusion to Superman’s day job at the Daily Planet). The  character and his Zoo Crew appeared in their own 20 issue series and various miniseries, even teaming up with characters from The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.

Sansão(Turma da Mônica)

Samson in the English translations, Sansão is Monica’s stuffed blue rabbit. He was originally yellow when created by Brazilian Mauricio de Sousa in 1963- in the black and white comic strips.  Samson  is often the object of affection for the neighborhood boys to steal and also Monica’s weapon of choice when getting revenge. He wasn't named until the comic book held a contest to name the rabbit in 1983. 

Illegal Comic Books And Those Who Try To Save Them!

In Malaysia, the Home Ministry is going against the recent release of Ultraman the Ultra Power. The comic is said to contain content that is “detrimental to public order”. Although this only adds the the popularity and allure of the book, owning, reproducing, producing, selling, importing or distributing the book could land you in serious hot water. Ultraman is a popular Japanese property that has toys, TV shows and comics(manga) to its name. The country has a Printing Presses and Publications Act of 1984 with maximum punishments of $6,000 dollars or 3 years in Jail. Although less severe, comic books have a long history of banning and censorship in the United States.

The witch hunt started in the 50s and 60s after Fredric Wertham published his Seduction of the Innocent- branding comics as vehicles for violence and perversion. With the emergence of the Comics Code Authority soon after, any comic that was not comic code approved was deemed unsellable by many newsstands and stores. This is until ,in 1971, Marvel published their government sanctioned The Amazing Spider-Man 96-98, featuring a story about drug abuse. This was in strict violation of the code and the issues were published without the approval…but remained huge sellers. The comic code lost steam and influence, but only in 2010 when DC and Archie refused to be part of the Code did it cease to exist on the comic rack. To read all the Code’s rules and regulations(there are many) take a look at the ComicArtVille Library website.

http://cbldf.org/

In the US, The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund works to help un-ban any challenged book, be it libraries, schools or groups that do not agree with the content. They are dedicated to “protecting the First Amendment(Freedom of Speech) rights of the comics medium. The non profit organization will even take legal action if necessary to support their fellow creators in the courtroom. Take a look at their list of Banned and Challenged Comics here.

Image Comics

Recently, issues of Sex Criminals by Matt Fraction and Chip Zdarsky and Saga by Brian K. Vaugan and Fiona Staples, both published by Image Comics, have been banned by Comixology for not agreeing with their decency policy. Groups like One Million Moms have called for boycotts and bannings of Archie Comic’s Kevin Keller series profiling a gay teenager. Comics encompass such a wide audience and subject matter that it is inevitable that not all will be willingly accepted by the masses.

Girls Gone Archie: Celebrities Take the Comic Book Stage.

The Acadamy Awards aired last night, celebrating the best of the the big screen. But did you know many screenwriters,musicians and actors have dabbled in comics?

Archie Comics has recently been famous for pairing their characters with stars: Obama, Kiss, the cast of Glee, George Takei…now HBO’s Girls creator Lena Dunham has signed on to pen four issues of Archie debuting next year. 

Archie Comics

“I was an avid Archie collector as a child — conventions, first editions that l kept in plastic sleeves, the whole shebang. It has so much cultural significance but also so much personal significance, and to get to play with these beloved characters is a wild creative opportunity,” Dunham said in the press release.

Recently Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, writer of the critically acclaimed Afterlife With Archie, was internally promoted to Chief Creative Officer. “Roberto is the ideal person for the CCO role, and why this is the next logical step in Archie’s evolution as a real pop culture company — a place where the strongest, most unique voices can come and contribute to Archie’s world. The best part is — we’re just getting started.” CEO John Goldwater stated.

This follows the trend of celebrities flexing their writing talents…in comic book form. Actors Rosario Dawson and Tyrese Gibson have written for Image Comics in their own miniseries(Occult Crimes Taskforce and Mayhem!, respectively). Saturday Night Live’s Bill Hader and Seth Meyers tagteamed on a Spider-Man parody one shot: The Short Halloween(parodying the successful Batman:The Long Halloween). Longtime voice of the Joker and Luke Skywalker, Mark Hamill wrote The Black Pearl for Dark Horse. Jennifer Love Hewitt conducted a miniseries, Music Box at IDW. Nick Fury(aka Samuel L Jackson) wrote Cold Space for Boom Studios. Jada Pinket Smith wrote Menace for Awesome Comics. Patton Oswalt wrote for JLA(DC) and Kevin Smith has written for Daredevil(Marvel). Orchestrator of the Marvel cinematic universe, Joss Whedon wrote a definitive era for the X-Men in their Astonishing X-Men series.

See cover images and a more complete list compiled by Jason on Listal.


One of the factors behind DC’s cross country move to Los Angeles is for the publisher ties in this. It is rumored that they would like to tap the Hollywood screenwriters for potential comic book writers.

The Turtles Make Their Renaissance: 30 Years and Counting

Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird

The first Ninja Turtle was sketched out by Kevin Eastman in 1983 in Northampton, Massachusetts. His friend, Peter Laird, liked the idea of “Ninja Turtle” and sketched another. In no time, the pair quickly created the four turtles: Leonardo, Michelangelo, Donatello and Raphael.

A few months later, using their tax returns, Eastman and Laird formed Mirage Studios and in March 1984 printed 3,000 copies of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles- a dark and gritty black and white parody of Daredevil starring the four turtles, their rat Master Splinter(Daredevil’s Sensei was named “Stick”) battle Shredder and his Foot Clan(Daredevil: “The Hand”). Even the toxic spill that blinded Daredevil as a boy also washed into the sewers and mutated the four turtles and rat.

Mirage Studios

The issue was advertised in a comic trade journal and became a sweeping success. It was continued the following year with reprints and further issues released intermittently. In what became Volume One of the series, a portion of the work was done by the original creators, guest artists and close collaborators (of note: Ryan Brown and Jim Lawson) also helps contribute to the volume’s 62 issues, with various Micro Series, miniseries and specials. A companion anthology piece “Tales of the TMNT” added 7 tales to the mythos in the early years.

In 1987, the property was optioned to Playmates Toys for a toy line. They wanted to test the characters with a five episode miniseries, making the characters much more kid friendly with phrases like “Cowabunga”, “Turtle Power” and “Heroes in a Half Shell”. Much more comedy than grit, the Fred Wolf show was very different from the ongoing, mature, black and white comic that was simultaneously being published. The show lasted ten seasons and had 193 episodes and a wildly popular, and collectible, action figure line.

Archie Comics/Mirage Studios

Archie Comics published Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures to market comics to a younger audience, spanning 72 issues from 1988 to 1995, using cues from the animated series and toy line. Adventures featured an expanded cast and more global mindset. Stories were written by Steve Murphy (under a pen name “ Dean Clarrain”) and penciled by Chris Allen. During this period three major motion pictures were released with puppetry from Jim Henson Studios(and music from Vanilla Ice).

After Volume 1 ended, Volume 2 quickly came to pass. Written and illustrated by Jim Lawson, the full color series lasted 13 issues and was a direct continuation of the series.

In 1996, Image Comics launched a 23 issue Volume 3, taking the property to new and strange places (Donatello became a cyborg). It was written by Gary Carlson and illustrated by Frank Fosco, with covers by one of the Image founders, Erik Larsen(Savage Dragon). The volume was later said to be “outside of continuity”. 1997 saw an ill fated live action show by Saban, those responsible for Power Rangers. The Next Mutation saw the controversial inclusion of a female turtle, Venus de Milo. The show lasted one season. The property’s popularity was waning. Kevin Eastman sold his ownership to Laird and Mirage in 2000.

In 2001, Peter Laird and Jim Lawson returned to continue the original continuity of the Turtles. Now in their 30s (yet still titled TMNT), the turtles faced new and old enemies and challenges. Tales of the TMNT was also revived in 2004 to try and fill the missing history gaps.

In 2003, Laird partnered with Lloyd Goldfine and 4Kids Entertainment to produce a new animated series, heavily based on the comic series. Playmates once again saturated the toy aisles with Turtles Products and Dreamwave Productions released a short lived, 7 issue comic book based on the show, written by Peter David and art by LeSean. The show lasted various incarnations until 2009 with seven seasons, ending during the Ninja Turtles’ 25th anniversary with a TV movie crossing over the Mirage comic book, the 4Kids cartoon and the original cartoon.

4 Kids/Mirage Studios

In 2007, Kevin Monroe directed a CGI movie with voice talents of Chris Evans(Casey Jones), Sarah Michelle Gellar(April O’Neil) and Patrick Stewart as the movie’s antagonist. Mirage released the comic book tie-ins.

Peter Laird sold the Ninja Turtle rights to Viacom/Nickelodeon in October 2009. Tales of the TMNT concluded with issue 70 and Volume 4 was paused indefinitely. Peter/Mirage was given permission to publish 18 issues a year about the Turtles if they so chose. In any event, IDW Publishing was rewarded the comic license. Kevin Eastman returned to oversee the property with Editor Bobby Curnow and writer Tom Waltz and art by Dan Duncan, Ben Bates, Ross Campbell, Andy Kuhn and Mateus Santolouco. The new series premiered in 2011 and took inspiration from all incarnations of the Turtles lore. Micro series, miniseries and annuals help booster the rapidly expanding new world for the heroes in a half shell.

IDW Publishing

In the same vein, Nickelodeon premiered its new CGI series in 2012 which also honors its roots. The creator of the show, Ciro Nieli, grew up with the original series. Throwbacks and references are littered throughout the series, now in the middle of its second series, with characters being reimaged and updated to fit the new tone. Cory Feldman, the voice of Donatello in the first live action movie, returns in season two to voice the evil turtle, Slash. Rob Paulsen-Raphael in the original series- now voices Donatello. Jason Biggs (American Pie), Greg Cipes (Teen Titans), and Sean Astin (Lord of the Rings) round out the green cast. IDW Publishing has their own monthly Adventures series telling stories inspired by the cartoon and Playmates is, again, churning out the toys.

Nickelodeon

That brings us to 2014: The 30th anniversary of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #1. How to celebrate? IDW has a wide range of reprints in production-ranging from hardcover collections of original Eastman and Laird issues to reprinted floppies for the first time in color (In the Mirage “universe” all four turtles have red masks). IDW recently announced they will publish the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 30th Anniversary Special in May. The cover is a collaboration between original creators Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird, marking one of the first times the two have reunited since the split. The 48 page special is a reunion of many of the special creators who brought life to the license. Kevin Eastman will tell a story from the Early days; “Dean Clarrain”/Steve Murphy and Chris Allen will tell another Archie Adventure tale; Gary Carlson and Frank Fosco look back on the Image Volume 3; Jim Lawson will tell a story set around Volume 4; and the original IDW artist Dan Duncan returns with scribe Tom Waltz to round out the special. Pin Ups are also promised but kept under wraps.

IDW/Viacom

 If that isn't the best way to honor the long legacy, you can always watch Meghan Fox as April O’Neil in the next Ninja Turtles movie by Paramount Pictures. The Jonathan Liebesman directed movie (with involvement by Michael Bay’s Platinum Dunes company) is in theaters August 8th.

Viacom/Paramount Pictures

President's Day meets New Comic Day

Type in President in the search bar at ComicVine Comics database. Lex Luthor with 2730 issues is the first result. He was president off and on in many of DC's universes. George W Bush is listed in 195 issues. His father: 107 comics. Bill Clinton? 196. Comic book cameos can add value to a comic or horribly date a comic. It can make a comic seem current, blurring the lines between reality and fiction. It can also put a huge spin on "alternate realities". Comic Books can make presidents larger than life. Superheroes, barbarians, zombie hunters or just interacting with the heroes we long to believe in. Here is a sampling of Barack Obama's 244 appearances. Read about other presidential cameos here!

Image Comic's Savage Dragon started the craze. In issue 137, by creator Erik Larsen the politically minded green man-dragon meets and endorses Obama. The issue kicked off the election season coming out September 2008.

Image Comics

Blue Water Comics, famous for publishing biographies in comics for various icons/pop culture personalities started the craze by publishing "Presidential Material" special editions for the incumbents: John McCain and Barack Obama.

Blue Water Comics

They have not stopped with lucrative series, showcasing his "Political Power", his wife, First Family: The Obamas, and even his dog, Bo.

Blue Water Comics

When Obama won the presidency in November 2008, the comic book industry was quick to cash in. 2009 became the year of Obama. Spider-Man had an important meeting with Obama in January 2009's Amazing Spider-Man 583, becoming one of the best selling American comics of the year.

Marvel Comics

He met with Green Goblin turned Iron Patriot in Thunderbolts 128-129(Marvel) and handled the Youngblood team in issue 8(Image Comics).

Obama and Norman Osborn, Thunderbolts. Image from Green Goblin Hangout

Image

Then...the job description got a little weird.  I will let the images speak for themselves.

Drafted: One Hundred Days(Devils Due) 2009

President Evil(Antarctic Press) 2009

Barack the Barbarian(Devils Due Press) 2009, Yes, that IS Sarah Palin

2010 saw Mister President visit Riverdale to hang out with Archie and Veronica. He teamed up with Harry Potter, Invincible and Walking Dead's Rick in an ongoing editorial Guarding the Globe. And he..."met" Bomb Queen in the "Oh-BOMB-ah!" four act story.

Archie 616 (Archie Comics) 2010

Guarding the Globe 1(Image Comics) 2010

Veronica 199(Archie Comics) 2010

Bomb Queen 3(Image Comics) 2010

Obama helped save America from Godzilla in 2011 and advised Cyborg in the Flashpoint miniseries.

Flashpoint 4(DC Comics) 2011, image from Everyday is Like a Wednesday 

Godzilla:Kingdom of Monsters 1(IDW) 2011 courtesy of  Bloody Disgusting

One of 2012's best graphic novels was Fantographics' Barack Hussein Obama written and illustrated by Steven Weissman. Marketed as "A book about you, your country, your family and your president."

Barack Hussein Obama (Fantographics Books) 2012 

This year started off with Skyman and The Other Dead premiers both debuting with Obama on the cover,

Skyman 1(Dark Horse Comics) 2014

The Other Dead 1(IDW) 2014

Will the President have a career in comics? It is doubtful. When the new presidential hopefuls are announced be prepared to see comics take sides in new and sometimes unsettling ways.

Culture of Comics' Top 10 Recommendation for People Who Don’t Read Comics(Part 2 of 2)

Yesterday I outlined half of my picks for great comics for non-comics readers. But if you ask 5 people for their picks, you will receive 5 different recommendations. The diversity of comics is great and every genre has their own audience. Poke around. Movie tastes and television habits can translate to a comic book series that is right for you.
Without further ado... here are the remaining 5(ish) picks!

6.All New X-Men(Marvel)

Marvel

The X-Men are one of the most complex and convoluted cast of characters in comics. How many times has Jean Grey died? Which villain turned hero and vice-versa? The X-Men started out with a 5 member team in much simpler times. Marvel’s golden writer, Brian Michael Bendis (Powers, New Avengers, Daredevil, Ultimate Spider-Man) finally has his hands on the X-Men. He brings back these 5 founding members, straight from the past, to catch up on the times and history and witness the changes right along with the readers. The book is fun, fast paced and a breath of fresh air.

7.Mind the Gap(Image)

Image

Mind the Gap started with a mysterious death of the protagonist. The whodunit unfolds in crazy ways that examines all aspects of someone’s life. Families and friends are left to grieve and place blame and try to move on…or investigate the unclear cause of death. Clues and red herrings litter each and every issue that make the series so addicting and compelling to read. Jim McCann is the writer and Rodin Esquejo and Sonia Oback handle the art and colors, respectively and they create a truly beautiful comic, from art to story. This is the type of comic you would want to watch weekly on prime time.

8.Life With Archie(Archie)

Archie 

This is the first time I actually sat down and read an Archie comic…and the second time the redhead appears on this list. This comic is for the twenty something. It’s for those just out of college who are trying to juggle new careers and new relationships. It’s for newlyweds and newly singles and those who hate returning to their hometown. It can be depressing at times but the good and positive always shine through. The book is split into two full sized stories, each existing in their own universe(depending which girl Archie married). I found the stories adult but not mature, serious in content but still in the cartoonish style. The series is written by Paul Kupperberg. 

9.Saga(Image)

Image

Critically acclaimed writer Brian K Vaughan(Y the Last Man, Runaways, Ex Machina) joined with artist Fiona Staples to produce a cosmic space soap opera. Game of Thrones, Star Wars and Romeo and Juliet all thrown into a blender challenges issues of love, family, war and (alien) race. The creators churn out 6 monthly issues and then take a short break to get ahead of the process and recharge their batteries- ensuring that no issue feels stale and uninspired. The title characters live this “saga”starting literally with the birth of their baby, to being chased down by waring factions, making choices that question love and family and morals that are quite universal. The comic is for mature audiences as it can be graphic at times, but aside from the controversy, it is a study on the human condition.

10.Valiant Comics

Valiant Entertainment 

I wanted to represent this up and coming publisher but could not settle on a series. I hold them all to the equally high caliber. They have a little bit of everything, and what they do, they do well. Unity is a team up book. X-O Manowar is an action adventure bridging the ancient Visigoths to space age technology. Harbinger is a team book with teenage mutants running around. Bloodshot and the HARD Corps is a heavy action book, a la Punisher. Archer & Armstrong and Quantum & Woody are fun buddy romps with a lot of laughs. Shadowman is a horror mystery. The  line, history and recent developments will be explained in a post shortly.


Do you have a series, past or present, that you recommend to anyone that will listen? Why is it so special? 

Culture of Comics' Top 10 Recommendation for People Who Don’t Read Comics(Part 1 of 2)

Bleeding Cool’s Erik Grove published a great(and self explanatory) article: Essential 8 Comics For Reaching Comic Book Curious. I agreed with many of the choices but there are also many omissions. The comic book community has been revitalized lately. New companies are popping up and old ones are always in the process of reinventing themselves and staying on the forefront of art and story. New creators, the world over, are getting their chance to really craft their own stories and take their characters to new levels. Here is a list, in no particular order, of not your average comic books that can interest just about anybody. Tune in for part two tomorrow!




1.Afterlife with Archie(Archie)

Archie Comics

The most surprising release of last year was Francesco Francavilla and Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa’s unique take on the Americana classic. The Archie property, forever stuck between Betty and Veronica, is now stuck in a horrific nightmare…the living dead are taking over Riverdale. Not like any classic Archie story and very different from the other popular zombie comic, Afterlife with Archie is a love letter to pulp classics that the genre was built on.The art is vibrant and dark and the action is suspenseful- it will leave you waiting for the next issue. Follow the twitter here and be on the look out for the first collected edition in April.



2.Daredevil(Marvel)

Marvel Comics

“Better than the Ben Affleck movie” isn’t saying much…but Mark Waid’s Daredevil, ending this month with issue 36 with a relaunch already in the works, is a different take on the character, much more based in reality. With his identity recently exposed, the character faces discrimination, social injustice, super villains and his business partner’s cancer. The art style. created by Paolo Rivera and continued by Chris Samnee, is different, with Daredevil’s super senses demonstrated in new and visually exciting ways. Classic villains and superheroes appear regularly but this solo series(Daredevil’s third volume) is really a tale of growth and struggle.




3. Morning Glories(Image)

Image Comics

One part Degrassi, one part Battle Royale and two parts Lost. Morning Glories is an addicting tale. Nick Spencer(writer), Joe Eisma(art) and Rodin Esquejo(covers) have teamed up to produce a very, very complex and compelling tale…broken into “seasons”. The story covers gifted students in a mysterious(oftentimes deadly) academy. Every issue offers a piece of the puzzle and more information about the wide cast of characters that the reader grows to care for. Like Lost, every answer leads to ten more questions but the comic delivers a wide range of emotions and the art and characters are very lifelike.




4. Invincible(Image)

Image Comics

Robert Kirkman,the creator of Walking Dead, wanted to tell a different kind of superhero story-one with consequences. Invincible is a teen superhero with newly acquired superpowers( inherited from his alien father). The series shows the characters growth- from his first team up, first girlfriend to eventually college and his first in space mission. The characters are never reset. Everything in the series counts and nothing gets ignored. The team (Cory Walker illustrated the first arc, then Ryan Ottley took over for the duration. All issues have been written by Kirkman)has worked on the series for over 100 issues and they know how to juggle the characters and the conflicts. The property was granted various miniseries and just rewarded a second ongoing: Invincible Universe. Find some collected volumes(all named after 80s sitcoms) at your local library.




5.Fables(Vertigo)

Vertigo

“Legends in Exile” –fairy tale characters live in New York- the big ones live upstate. Snow White is sleeping with the Big Bad Wolf(who has a human form). Cinderella is a super spy and Goldilocks is a serial killer. And just wait til you see the mouth on Pinocchio. Created by Bill Willingham and interiors by Mark Buckingham. The majority of the eye catching covers were by artist James Jean(replaced by Joao Ruas). The fable world has a rich history and multiple spin off series, mini series and over sized graphic novels and prose. Try out the first story arc for a detective story, but don’t worry Willingham knows how to turn things on their head before they get stale. The series just got their own video game by Telltale Games and it is rumored that ABC’s Once Upon A Time. Recently, Willingham announced an end is in sight and issue 150 will be its last.

Tune in tomorrow for the last 5 on the list! All comics can be found at a local comic book store or online at Comixology. Fables, Morning Glories, Daredevil and Invincible have already gotten international reprints in a variety of languages. To read these comics at no risk: visit your local library to order a copy of a collected edition!
 

"Based on _________" Comics as a Second Medium

Licensed comic books are nothing new. Take a popular movie, TV show, toy line or even video game and try to sell a comic based off it.Often less long lasting than in house publications, licensed properties add an  extra, and more complicated step-owner approval. Rarely making required reading lists, it is an uphill battle.

IDW, Boom Studios,Dark Horse and Archie have been recent masters of expanding on the source material, rather than strictly portraying the story they are adapting. IDW has GI Joe, My Little Pony, Transformers(all owned by Hasbro) ,Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles(Nickelodeon/Viacom) and the Cartoon Network properties. Boom Studios’ Kaboom imprint has Peanuts, Adventure Time, Garfield, and Regular Show. Dark Horse just lost Star Wars but still has Avatar: The Last Airbender, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Planet of the Apes and Alien among others.  Archie’s Sonic the Hedgehog(Sega) series has outlasted all the redesigns and is currently releasing its 256^th issue and Mega Man is on issue 30.

DC Comics

In the past few years, DC and Marvel have been finding a new audience in TV viewers. DC released a Vampire Diaries digital first series last year. Marvel released a graphic novel based on the popular Disney’s Once Upon A Time. Like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, DC is continuing Batman Beyond and Smallville.  DC made headlines last year when they revived Batman ’66, a new take on the pop culture phenomenon staring Adam West and Burt Ward. This capitalizes on fans who enjoy the shows and want more of it and may not be regulars at the comic book store. The instant gratification of digital gives the comics less risk, buy and try for 99 cents.

Newcomer Lion Forge Comics signed an exclusive deal with NBCUniversal last summer. Showcasing digital only stories based on Knight Rider and Airwolf(Miami Vice coming soon) the publisher is quickly churning out material, among in-house properties as well. The comics are mainly sold on Amazon for use on the Kindle, but can also be purchased on the apple iBooks store. The digital publisher announced plans for an all ages imprint: ROAR Comics, starting with Punky Brewster and Saved by the Bell available soon.

Lion Forge/NBCUniversal

Nostalgia is a huge business with today’s culture and comic book adaptions are here to stay, for better or worse. What properties would you like to see revived in comic books? 

Comics are for Kids

Getting comic books into kid's hands is a very difficult, and very important, task in this day and age. Comics are no longer found at every newsstand, grocery store, or book store. With comic themed cartoons running on all the children’s TV stations, big blockbusters that attract moviegoers of all types, and superhero licensed products flooding the market- kids should have all ages titles that are easily acquired.

 In 2010, America’s biggest toy store chain, Toys R Us, signed a distribution deal with Archie Comics- adding a comic rack to the chain’s 879 nationwide stores, for better or worse. Last year, conservative group One Million Moms protested the sales of GLAAD nominated Life With Archie for its positive portrayal of gay marriage. The group attacked Toys R Us in particular for the sale of this comic to children. 

 Since then, Marvel and DC have been working on sending more comics to children. Not wanting to be left behind, publisher IDW houses popular children’s licenses like My Little Pony, Nickelodeon’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles , Powerpuff Girls, Ben 10, and Samurai Jack. Last year they launched Micro Comic Fun Packs- filled with posters, how to draw sections, stickers and, of course, comics. The comics are reprinted material but perfect for kids. 

.

The fun packs are distributed to Target Stores, Toys R Us and comic book shops. My Little Pony Micro Fun Packs are available now and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles will hit stores in April.

Read IDW's press release here.