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!
 

Spandex and the Stage: Super-heroic Performances

More news has been released about the comic spectacular starting  this summer. But you won't only find your favorite superheroes in the pages of comic books; they are touring the United States! So far, 3 night engagements have been scheduled for 55 cities, with 10 other US cities “coming soon” as well as a promise for Canadian cities. The tour starts in Tampa Bay, Florida on July 10^th. Ticket prices range from $40-$120 plus ticketing fees. Click here to see the city closest to you! Dates go until 2016.

In the stage show Spider-man, Iron Man, Captain America, Hulk, Thor, Nick Fury, Hawkeye, Black Widow and X-Men Wolverine and Storm battle Green Goblin and Loki. Advertised as :“a mind-blowing, live-action arena experience, featuring the greatest Marvel super heroes and villains,” the show boasts new special effects and technology. Marvel Universe Live is produced by Field Entertainment- the ones who tour Ringling Bros Barnum and Baily's Circus, Monster Jam and Disney on Ice. 

Marvel is not a stranger to stage shows.Their Broadway show just ended in early January. Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark premiered June 14, 2011 at the New York Foxwoods Theatre. Bono and The Edge wrote the music and the script is a collaboration between playwright Glen Berger, comic book writer Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa and director Julie Taymor(Across the Universe, Broadway’s The Lion King). The play was plagued with bad luck and went down in history as being the most expensive Broadway production. It is now being adapted for the Las Vegas stage, opening next year. 

DC already has experience in the stage show. Batman Live Arena Tour premiered July 2011 in England, followed by Brazil, Argentina and Chile, then finally going on a North American tour in 2012…ending December 2012 due to low sales. The Arena show was well received and had great special effects and a pretty diverse cast of characters(Batman, Alfred, Dick Grayson/Robin, Commissioner Gordon, Joker, Harley Quinn, Penguin, Riddler, Two Face, Scarecrow, and Catwoman), as well as complex scenery and ,of course, a heavily featured Batmobile. 

Both publishers have stakes in the theme park industry, as well. DC partnering up with Six Flags and Marvel Comics have been a mainstay at Universal Studios Islands of Adventure. As most theme parks, the costumed superheroes are among the attractions to greet guests and pose for a photo. Marvel has recently been bought by The Walt Disney Company. So, who knows? Maybe we can see Spider-man walking around Main Street USA at Disney World in the near future...

Indian Comic Con Showcases a World of Talent

India held their own Comic Con in New Delhi this weekend at Thyageraj Stadium. It is the fourth convention of its kind for the country. 

Guests include Mark Waid( Kingdom Come, 52,Irredeemable,Daredevil ), David Lloyd(Illustrator, V for Vendetta), John Layman(Image Comic’s Chew, Gambit, Detective Comics), Brazilian twins Fabio Moon and Gabriel Ba( Collectively: Daytripper, Casanova, The Umbrella Academy) , and Indian creator Pran(Chacha Chaudhary and Sabu). Comixology also visited to give a talk “Digital Comics & It’s Scope”. The Comic Con had a lot to do:Screenings Sherlock and Supernatural, PS4 game station, Peanuts Museum, “Learn to write comics”, grass root comic campaigns, and “A chance to visit New York”. The 4th annual Indian Comic Con connects the international community with India's rich comic book culture. 

A staple of Indian childhood since the 60s: Amar Chitra Katha comics created by Uncle Anant Pai, educates children in multiple languages about a variety of Indian folklore, mythology, biographies  and history. Their online store offers international shipping.

Pran, present at the Con, has been called the “Walt Disney of India” . He has created many diverse characters and his flagship property: the mustached super genius Chacha Chaudhary, has 600 animated  episodes under his belt. Learn more about the characters and the creator here.

Chacha Chaudhary, created by Pran

Spider-Man:India, published Gotham Entertainment Group was a 4 issue Indian adaptation of Spider-Man. Released in 2004(2005 Stateside), it was created by Suresh Seetharaman,Jeevan Kang, and Sharad Devarajan. In the story, Pavitr Prabhakar lives with his Auntie Maya and Uncle Bhim, he crushes on Meera Jain. Nalin Oberoi(Green Goblin) and Doctor Octopus(with magic tentacles) threaten the young wall crawler.

Marvel/ Gotham Entertainment Group

Marvel Global Comics released their app this week, featuring multiple titles in Hindi. Viz Media is heavily pushing Manga in India. With multiple Indian publishers accepting and embracing Digital Media, their future is as bright as ever. 

Marvel App Sells Digital Comics in 12 Languages

Marvel Global Comics

It was just a question of when, and its time has arrived. Marvel announced the release of the Marvel Global Comics app, which will offer comics translated in 12 languages.

With the ease of making titles available in digital format, there has been speculation for a long time about the future possibility of publishers offering their products in different langues. The “House of Ideas” decided to do just that.

"Marvel has incredible fans all around the world, and we're excited to bring digital comics to their mobile devices in their native languages. This partnership with iVerse allows us to introduce Marvel’s rich history of action-packed stories to new audiences worldwide who want to know more about the Avengers, Spider-Man, Wolverine and the rest of the vast Marvel Universe,”declared Kristen Vincent, vice-president of digital products at Marvel Entertainment.

iVerse Media is a translation management service for digital content.

For now, Marvel Global Comics is available just for products with iOS operational systems, by Apple, like the iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch. To install, go to the Apple Store. Some free issues are available.

(Original article  Aplicativo da Marvel vende HQs digitais em 12 idiomas, inclusive português by Samir Naliato on February 6th, 2014. Reprinted and translated with permission from Universo HQ)

Chinese (traditional and simplified), Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish, German, French, Hindi, Russian, Hindi, and Italian readers will have digital access to comics! Launching today, I am hesistant to see the library offered (and the prices). iVerse seems to be a pretty established company and one of a kind in digital comic translations.They are doing a great service to the comics community and I expect other companies to quickly follow suite(ComiXology, DC..). Read the press release here and download the app today!

"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? 

Black and White vs Color: Making green.

Dragon Ball, one of the most popular manga and anime in the world, will be republished, in the US, by Viz Media. In color. It is the first time that the series will we published there in this format.

The first volume called Dragon Ball Full Color was released yesterday. The story goes up to volume 17 of the original-or the first volume of Dragon Ball Z. The printed version costs US$19.99. The digital version is already being sold on the Viz Manga App for US $12.99.

In other Dragon Ball news, the creator of the series, Akira Toriyama, revealed a big piece of information about Goku’s origin: his mom’s identity.  According to the author, her name is Gine and she will appear in  complementary material in the magazine : Jaco the Galactic Patrolman, to be released in April, in Japan.

Viz Media

As the fans already know, the father of Goku is named Bardock. He and the evil twin brother of Goku, Raditz, have appeared.

Gine met Bardock when they both served on a soldier platoon, and he saved her life many times, which leaded to the two falling in love.

(Original article Dragon Ball é lançado em cores, nos EUA, e autor revela mãe de Goku written by Samir Naliato on February 5^th, 2014. Translated and reprinted with permission from Universo HQ)

Dragon Ball premiered in 1984 in the weekly anthology series Shonen Jump. The series lasted until 1995 being collected in 42 volumes. After volume 16, the series evolved into a new future story (Dragon Ball Z).  The series was adapted into long lasting anime series. Viz Media started their English translations in 2003, ending only in 2006 with the final volume. 

Many companies are working on coloring their black and white series to resell series in their entirety. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Color Classics(IDW) are reprinting 80s and 90s stories. Oni Press is re-releasing the six book series Scott Pilgrim in full color just 4 years after the final volume saw print.

Viz Media, owned by Japanese conglomerates, is based in San Francisco and focuses on printing Japanese manga for the English speaking audience. Viz Media Europe are now working diligently on sending manga to India. 

Would you re buy comics if they are reprinted in color? Does color make a difference? 

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. 

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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. 

A New Member of the 500 Club.

As mentioned in the previous post- 500 is an increasingly rare number for comic book series to achieve but Brazil is hitting the big 5-0-0 mark once again with this month’s Cebolinha 500, published by Panini. Learn more about the journey to 500 and Maurico de Sousa's beloved character!

Cebolinha 1(1973)-Abril/MSP

Ceblinha- “Little Onion” in Portuguese- referring to his five strands of hair is renamed Jimmy Five in the English translations. Always trying to regain the throne as “owner of the street” he always comes up with “infallible plans” to unseat the neighborhood’s leader, usually stealing her stuffed rabbit and making fun of her stature, height or teeth; the more well-known character, Monica, started as a secondary character in his comic strips. The mean little boy is not without his charm. His speech impediment changes his Rs to Ls…making him always declare he will be the owner of the moon, not the street (Lua=moon, rua=street). In English, still mispronouncing his Rs…he would be the owner of the stweet(R=W).

His first appearance was actually in comic strips- he was a secondary character (with more than five strands of hair) appearing frequently after his October 24th, 1960 premiere in “Bidu e Franjinha” from the Sao Paulo based “Folha de Manhã” newspaper. His creator, Mauricio de Sousa, claims the character is based on a childhood acquaintance. Celebrating 50 years in 2010, Panini released a hard cover commemorative book detailing his “career” : Cebolinha 50 Anos.

A celebration of Cebolinha

In 1973, Abril, publisher of Monica, granted the character his own series. Cebolinha stayed with Abril for 168 issues until the property was sold to Globo, enjoying 246 issues there until 2006. With 85 issues under his belt with current publisher Panini(since 2007)…Cebolinha reaches the monumental 500 this month! The preview, released today, states “Cebolinha acquires  Marina’s magic pencil to create a infallible plan, but Captain Ugly(Captain Fray in the translation) has other ideas… Anniversary special that commemorates 500 issues of Cebolinha in Brazil.”

Cebolinha 500- Panini/MSP

Issue 500(listed as 86 on the website) is available in Portuguese from the publisher's website for $1.60(with a high shipping rate, unfortunately). The issue is 68 pages and includes activities and games.

Learn more about his competition, Monica, here!

Best News of the Week: Jan 26-Feb 1

Here's a look at some of the stories that may have fell through the cracks this week:

*In Angoulême news...Alan Moore dropped out of the running for Grand Prix and in the end Calvin and Hobbs creator Bill Watterson won the selective process.

The awards ceremony if you have an hour and twenty minutes to spare...it does have musical breaks...

*Comixology was also present at the Festival, polling attendants on their digital reading habits...Again, the infographic lacks numbers but this is an interesting cross section of "a typical French customer". How do the results compare to you or your country?

Archie Comics

*Batman makes his Marvel...Batman editor Mike Marts is headed over to Marvel beginning today after a 6 year stint at DC heading the Batman titles. Marts previously spent a decade at Marvel watching over the X-Men while Grant Morrison and Joss Whedon had their definitive runs in New X-Men and Astonishing X-Men, respectively. DC hasn't announced their new blood for Batman or how this changes their future plans on the line. Creators often follow editors and favor writing(and drawing) for them...it will be interesting to see what happens.

*Archie Comics is promoting the premiere of the Mega Man X in the pages of its Mega Man monthly. The future storyline starts as a backup feature in this month's issue 34-written by Ian Flynn(Sonic the Hedgehog) with art by fan favorite Spaz. Archie's Mega Man made news last year when the comic crossed over with Sonic the Hedgehog(also by Archie) for a 12 part story. Fans of the Super Nintendo series will want to check it out!

*Dark Horse is celebrating the 30th birthday of Stan Sakai's Usagi Yojimbo. Usagi has been seen on TV with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles- Sakai an old friend of creator Peter Laird. The commemorative book, to be released July 23rd, is called "The Sakai Project". The Dark Horse book is filled with comic greats, with an open door submission process until February 20th. Of note are: Brian Michael Bendis(Ultimate Spider-Man, current X-Men titles, New Avengers, Powers), Jeff Smith(Bone),  and Matt Groening(creator of The Simpsons and Futurama), plus many,many more.Stan Sakai is currently facing financial difficulties due to his wife's medical bills. The Cartoon Art Professional Society has put out the call to donations. Dark Horse is handing over all the proceeds of "The Sakai Project" to the creator and his wife.

*Definitive images of the new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles move have hit the web on multiple news sites. Now called Ninja Turtles- the movie was rumored to have an alien plot in the original script. The leaked pictures are a promotional poster and what is believed to be new action figures. Playmates Toys has held the action figure licence since before the 80's cartoon premiered. Created by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird in 1984. Kevin handed over creative control to Peter and Mirage Studios in 2000, Peter Laird sold the property to Viacom(Nickelodeon) late 2009. With the film opening August 8, expect more information and images soon.

Olympic Rivalry Between Norway and Sweden Starts in Duckburg!

Disney's Donald Duck February edition:Norwegian version(left) and Swedish version(right)

“ Before the games we have simply agreed,” explains Norwegian Donald Duck editor Marius Molaug explains of the country's partnership with Sweden to TV 2

For the first time the Norwegian and the Swedish edition of Donald Duck will come out with different versions of the same basic cover.

“There are also a number of different panels inside the magazine”, said Molaug.

“We struggled to agree…”adding that the Norwegian and Swedish Donald magazines usually are virtually identical, both inside and out.

“ It's a good partnership. We make the magazine and they copy it. But this time we struggled to agree," Molaug chuckles before he clarifies:

“This is all in good fun. We will return to good friends again after the Olympics.”

But before and during the Olympics there's a competition?

“Right now it's open season for some cheek. But it all goes on in good Duckburg spirit,” assures the editor.


The Norwegian edition comes out on store shelves on Friday February 7, the same day as the Olympics opening ceremony will be held in Sochi. The Swedish edition comes out a few days earlier.

According to Moulaug, Donald fans can look forward to many jokes and parody fun.

“( Swedish skier) Charlotte Kalla has become Shallot Turtle-Shell and (triathlon runner) Björn Ferry is naturally been changed to Bear Holiday. And so we have made the Swedish expert commentator Jonas Karlsson into a pig after calling (Norwegian cross country skier)Peter Northug a pig in 2012.”

- And how do the Swedes strike back?


“I think they have been bolder than us. They have, for example, made Northug into a pig, and female cross country skier Marit Bjoergen appears to be nothing more than a mass of muscles."

(Original article Fetter Fjontug vs Markmus Kelner! by Joar Hystadvegen, published on TV2! on January 30, 2014. Translation help provided by Ann-Karin Gjerde. ) 

Head over to the main article to see the parodies of the athletes...strange animal morphing going on there!

Norway is the 2nd largest comic book reading country per capita. While Sweden sells about 434,000 with their weekly Kalle Anka & Co(Donald Duck and Company) Magazine. The Nordic countries' love for the speech impaired duck is substantial. Norway has its own council promoting responsibility for comics- The Norwegian Council for Cultural Affairs.

Swede Charlie Christensen created a Donald Duck parody in 1983. Arne Anka(Anka translates to duck) was a working class duck man...a womanizer and alcoholic, his life was poetic.When Disney sent a lawsuit to Christensen, Arne Anka had a terrible accident and died. The detestable duck faked his own demise! Coming back with a removable prosthetic duckbill and a new name Arnes Andre...witness protection has done well for the character and his creator. The original series lasted until 1995 and he returned in 2004 to costar in a series: Arne Anka and Konrad K.

Charlie Christensen