Comics and Community
“Again, it makes me think of TCAF and the effect that the show actually has on the community of Toronto. It’s educational, it promotes literacy and it’s free! It’s not about the money. It’s about creating a new audience and laying a foundation for the future.”
- Frank Santoro, The Comics Journal
Go read, it’s an interesting think-piece about where all of this comic-conning is actually taking the industry, and I’d think so even if it wasn’t incredibly complimentary of what we do at TCAF.
“Probably the single issue I’ve most enjoyed in the last little while though? I was fortunate enough to get an advance look at Casanova: Avarita #1 debuting this September from ICON. I’m a dyed-in-the-wool Cass fan from before the first issue came out, so it won’t be any surprise to hear that I liked the new issue… but man, it’s great. ”
- Me, at Robot 6 / Comic Book Resources
I was the guest on this week’s “What Are You Reading” Column at Robot 6, and in addition to some much deserved love for Adachi’s CROSS GAME I talk about some recent floppies I read and enjoyed.
- Chris
0 Comments. Posted by Chris on Monday, July 18, 2011 at 6:02 pm.
Filed under Conventions, General, TCAF.
UDON at San Diego Comic Con
As mentioned, I’m booth-managing Toronto’s own UDON Entertainment, Booth #5037, at Comic-Con 2011 this year (in addition to a half-dozen other things). It’s gonna be a fun time, and I really dig a lot of their books. I’m particularly chuffed to see them launching their first creator-owned, original IP, original graphic novel this year. I totes want that to be a success, because encouraging a Toronto pub with international distribution to do original work? Well that’s right up on the top of my to do list. Anyway, here’s a PR I wrote about what they’ve got going on at SDCC. Lemmie know whatcha think!
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All images link to hi-res versions suitable for use online. For interior art or previews, or to follow-up on any of the listed debut books, please contact us at mattmoylan@udonentertainment.com
2011 marks the beginning of Publisher and Creative Studio UDON Entertainment‘s second decade of operations, and one of its biggest San Diego Comic-Con outtings ever! With three new books debuting at Comic-Con International and more than 16 creators in attendance signing and sketching for fans across all five days of the show, no comics, video game, or art fan is going to want to miss out on all the great stuff going down at UDON, booth #5037!
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Art Books and Graphic Novels Debuting at Comic-Con:
MEGA MAN TRIBUTE HC
Celebrating over 20 years of the ‘blue bomber!’
Hundreds of artists from around the world join forces to pay homage to one of the most iconic figures in gaming with Mega Man Tribute! This 300+ page, full-colour art book is the ultimate celebration of the blue bomber, featuring the characters of Mega Man classic, Mega Man X, Mega Man Zero, Mega Man ZX, and Mega Man Legends in every style you can imagine! Includes original pieces by comics superstars Hitoshi Ariga (Mega Man: Megamix), Sean “Cheeks” Galloway (Teen Titans: GO!), Sanford Greene (Dark Horse Presents), and many more!
Premiering at Comic-Con, this limited edition hardcover version features exclusive cover art by Mega Man manga artist Hitoshi Ariga (Megamix, Gigamix), and is only available direct from UDON! Limited to 500 copies. SRP $80.
COMIC-CON EXCLUSIVE: Meet the artists featured in Mega Man Tribute at the UDON Booth #5037 every day from 1:30-3pm for a special signing! Participating artists are scheduled to include Joe Bluhm, Andrew Dickman, Sean “Cheeks” Galloway, Sanford Greene, Edwin Huang, Ryan Odagawa, editor Matt Moylan, and UDON members Jeffrey Cruz, Omar Dogan, Joe Ng, Eric Vedder, Long Vo, and Jim Zub.
RANDOMVEUS VOL.1 HC
By Jeffrey “Chamba” Cruz! UDON’s first original graphic novel!
All-out action meets off-the-wall wackiness in RandomVeus Volume 1, an original graphic novel from the mind of artist Jeffrey “Chamba” Cruz! Join bouffant-sporting hero Raimundo and the team of One-Dimensional Couriers as they deliver mysterious packages to every corner of the wild world known as the RandomVeus! Octopus ninjas, jazz playing demons, robot gorillas, samurai mushrooms, and giant furry squid monsters are all on tap in this zaniest of zany adventures!
RandomVeus Volume 1 is UDON’s first-ever original graphic novel, featuring an entirely original story and characters in a beautiful and unique artistic style! The hardcover graphic novel will debut at Comic-Con with an SRP of $29.99.
COMIC-CON EXCLUSIVE: RandomVeus creator Jeffrey “Chamba” Cruz will be signing at the UDON booth #5037 every day of Comic-Con! Come meet the artist, and get your copy of RandomVeus Volume 1 signed and sketched-in by the author!
STREET FIGHTER LEGENDS: THE ULTIMATE EDITION HC
By Omar Dogan, Ken Siu-Chong, Jim Zub, and more!
It’s the entire Street Fighter Legends series in a gorgeous, oversized format to catch every detail! Collecting the complete Sakura, Chun-li, and Ibuki comic series, this ultimate collection shows why the lovely ladies of Street Fighter deserve to be called Legends! Plus appearances from Ryu, Sagat, Dan, M.Bison, Karin, Makoto, Elena, and more of your favorites!
This is a beautiful companion to UDON’s smash-hit Street Fighter Ultimate Edition v1 and v2, featuring 350+ pages of comics! Entirely drawn by UDON artist Omar Dogan, and written by Ken Siu-Chong (Street Fighter) and Jim Zub (Skullkickers), this limited edition hardcover version features exclusive cover art by Omar Dogan. Limited to 200 copies! Debuting at Comic-Con with an SRP of $80.
COMIC-CON EXCLUSIVE: Street Fighter Legends creators Omar Dogan and Jim Zub will be signing at the UDON booth every day of Comic-Con! In addition, Street Fighter Legends variant and pin-up artists including Adam Warren, Alvin Lee, and Jo Chen will also be doing select signings at the UDON Booth!
More great creator signings!
Here’s the complete list of creators who will be signing at UDON Entertainment, booth #5037:
Joe Bluhm (Mega Man Tribute), Jo Chen (Street Fighter Legends, Buffy The Vampire Slayer), Jeffrey “Chamba” Cruz (RandomVeus), Andrew Dickman (Mega Man Tribute), Omar Dogan (Street Fighter Legends), Sean “Cheeks” Galloway (Mega Man Tribute), Sanford Greene (Mega Man Tribute), Alvin Lee (Street Fighter Legends, Hatsune Miku), Matt Moylan (Mega Man Tribute), Joe Ng (Street Fighter), Ryan Odagawa (Mega Man Tribute), Arnold Tsang (Street Fighter), Eric Vedder (Darkstalkers), Long Vo (Street Fighter, Inception), Adam Warren (Street Fighter Legends, Empowered), Jim Zub (Mega Man Tribute). Plus one very special guest that will be announced closer to Comic-Con!
Please see the UDON Website or the UDON booth #5037 on-site at Comic Con for complete schedule and signing times.
Come to the UDON Entertainment Panel!
UDON will be taking you behind the scenes on some of their best and most high-profile video game, comics, and art book projects. In addition, several MAJOR announcements about forthcoming projects will be made at this panel! Don’t miss it!
UDON and the Art of Comic & Game Design.
Friday, July 22
Room: 4, 7:00-8:00 PM
UDON create great comics, translate your favourite Japanese art books, and design some amazing video games! Join them as they share their trade secrets, learned from working with a host of different comics and game companies over the past 10 years! Take a tour of winning design elements through UDON’s vast portfolio of works, and get ready for special announcements of which comics, manga, artbooks, and video game properties they’ll be working on next! Featuring Jim Zub (Skullkickers), Jeffrey Cruz (RandomVeus), Long Vo (Inception), Matt Moylan (Mega Man Tribute), and more!
PRESS
If you have any inquiries or questions about UDON Entertainment or to arrange follow-up interviews, please contact UDON Managing Editor Matt Moylan at mattmoylan@udonentertainment.com.
ABOUT UDON ENTERTAINMENT
UDON Entertainment is a Canada-based publisher of original comic books, graphic novels, and art books. UDON’s best-known projects are those based on popular video game franchises such as Street Fighter®, Darkstalkers®, Okami®, Resident Evil® and Mega Man®. The publisher’s ever-growing library also includes English editions of several Japanese manga titles, the anthology art book series APPLE, and the Manga for Kids line for children ages 7-12.
0 Comments. Posted by Chris on Wednesday, July 13, 2011 at 4:42 pm.
Filed under Canadian Cartooning, Conventions, Retailing.
A Comic I Like: Malinky Robot
Malinky Robot by Sonny Liew is a very cool indie read, about two kids getting into trouble in a nominally sci-fi, ultra dense and condensed city. It’s really beautifully drawn, and these Malinky Robot shorts range from Xeric-funded, self-published work, to stories that have appeared in the FLIGHT anthologies.
Sonny Liew is probably better-known now for his work on SLG Publishing’s WONDERLAND comics and Marvel’s EMMA adaptation, or MY FAITH IN FRANKIE and REGIFTERS for Vertigo, but he got his comics start on these books and I’ve always thought they were great fun.
Image will be publishing a collection of all of the Malinky Robot stories to date this August, called MALINKY ROBOT: COLLECTED STORIES AND OTHER BITS. Full Colour, 128 pages, $17, I’ll definitely be buying one and if you like good comics with great art, might I recommend you do the same?
More at sonnyliew.wordpress.com/
- Chris
0 Comments. Posted by Chris on Friday, July 8, 2011 at 4:11 pm.
Filed under General, Retailing.
I did a Kit Kat tasting party, it’s gonna be in the paper
“Environmental guilt = a garbage bag filled with Japanese Kit Kat wrappers. If it weren’t for my kidnapping and blackmail side business, this would be the worst thing I’ve ever done.” – Corey Mintz, Porkosity
I went to Corey’s and I shared about 40 different kinds of Japanese Kit Kats with some people, and they wrote about it, and Corey wrote about it, and it’s gonna be in the paper and some other stuff. Click on the “Porkosity” link above for a few more advance photos.
- Chris
0 Comments. Posted by Chris on Thursday, July 7, 2011 at 1:16 pm.
Filed under Not Comics, Random Japan.
Green Lantern & Free Comic Book Day Musings
I’ve appeared on a few other websites, again:
“It’s kinda hard to root for a guy who thinks he’s the underdog but is in reality a good-looking fighter pilot with a smoking-hot girlfriend, great support network of friends, amazing apartment (exposed steel beams!) … oh, and a magical wishing ring.”
- Me, talking about the Green Lantern Film at The National Post’s Popcorn Panel
and
“All in all, I like FCBD but we haven’t noticed any slow-down for not participating. Hell, we didn’t even really hear much from our regulars about not holding it. I think it’s because we do so much outreach throughout the rest of the year–on average we’re doing 30 events for the public in a calendar year, and that’s not counting TCAF. We’re always trying to bring new folks through our doors, and while FCBD and legions of cheap giveaway comics are certainly helpful in that regard, I don’t really think they’re the only weapon in our arsenal, so to speak. ”
- Me, talking about Free Comic Book Day at ComicBookDaily
I’ve been doing some other writing too, but more on that when it’s ready. :)
- Chris
1 Comment. Posted by Chris on Tuesday, July 5, 2011 at 2:57 pm.
Filed under Retailing, Superheroes.
Censorship Watch: A great editorial from The Ottawa Citizen
But Canada’s current law goes beyond pornography that causes harm to children. It also makes some works of the imagination – stories and drawings – illegal if they depict people under the age of 18 in sexual situations. Many classic works of art might meet that definition, and the law does allow for a defence on the grounds of artistic merit. This puts the courts in the bizarre position of determining what is a work of art. Citizens cannot hope to know in advance what the law really forbids, and whether the judge will share their opinion of what is art. Policing the way you express yourself on a piece of paper or on your laptop comes awfully close to policing your thoughts.
Read more: www.ottawacitizen.com/entertainment/Crimes+imagination/5020809/story.html#ixzz1Qg5TanaR
Very happy to see this strongly-worded editorial condemning the arrest of a U.S. Citizen for travelling into Canada with comics and manga on his laptop. Kudos to the Ottawa Citizen for taking an important stand.
- Chris
0 Comments. Posted by Chris on Wednesday, June 29, 2011 at 11:08 am.
Filed under General.
Lent
In the TCAF craziness I missed an anniversary–I gave up Diet Coke just over a year ago. In fact I’ve cut aspartame and “diet” products out of my life entirely. Just in time too, apparently.
I went to Japan in May 2010 for 10 days, and in Japan they don’t have Diet Coke. The ‘diet’ is like the parliament, or congress, so the closest equivalent is “Coke Plus”, which isn’t widely available, and doesn’t taste exactly like Diet Coke. Actually, that’s the thing about being addicted to Diet Coke–you’re addicted to Diet Coke, and all of the other products and half-steps just don’t taste right, and don’t scratch that itch. Coke Zero was always a possibility, but I figured if I was gonna leave all that behind, I’d leave it allll behind.
I was pretty seriously addicted to Diet Coke too. Although I hesitate to mention my connection Scott Pilgrim on the blog here, this little bit of Wallace…
…is exaggerated very little. I was probably drinking a 2l of Diet Coke every 2 days while I was living with Mal, and I’d been drinking it since I was like 6 or 7? Whenever it came out I think. While I’d cut waaaay back in recent years, it became kind of obvious that I’d need to cut it out entirely. And I did. Just willpower, I think I’ve had 2 or 3 mouthfuls since last year and luckily it doesn’t taste nearly as good in real life as my taste memory of it.
I haven’t exactly replaced it with anything, I’ll usually have a couple of energy drinks every workday but before you rush to point out how shitty that is for me, check out the ingredients on the only energy drink I imbibe: guruenergy.com/new/us/drinks/guru/guru.php. No refined caffeine, no taurine, no refined sugar, no corn syrup, all of the ingredients are certified organic. If you’ve gotta drink sugar water with weird shit in it, this is about the best sugar water you can hope for.
I also drink a lot more _actual_ water, usually 2l a day.
I don’t know if I feel any healthier, but I sure do have a hell of a lot better peace of mind when I see articles like this crop up.
- Chris
4 Comments. Posted by Chris on Tuesday, June 28, 2011 at 4:45 pm.
Filed under Not Comics.
Green Lantern Prequels shipping this week… and in August.
Shipping this week:
MAR110266 Green Lantern Movie Prequel Hal Jordan #1 2.99
Originally due: May 25th
So a Green Lantern Movie Prequel is shipping this week, a full month late and 3 weeks after the Green Lantern Movie opened. The fifth and final Green Lantern Movie Prequel book won’t be out until August. As a retailer I’m pretty worried about this. Not just because of a late book, because hey, sometimes books are late. But because of the creative team, and because of how Capital “I” Important this book is. This was DC’s major tie-in to the Green Lantern film, written by Green Lantern writer, Chief Creative Officer, and Green Lantern movie Executive Producer Geoff Johns. Apparently at no point was it a priority to get their major movie tie-in out in time for the movie, that’s a little distressing. But worse than that, this is nothing new. Johns has been at least a month late on Green Lantern for most of the title’s run, with frequent skip-months to get the book back on track.
And getting worse, GL isn’t the first problematic work of Johns’. Johns really sunk his teeth into Flash before he moved to GL, and that series has frankly been a mess for years now. There’ve been 4 relaunches of that title in 2.5 years:
Flash: Rebirth #1 (April 2009) (6 issues, 11 months)
Blackest Night: The Flash #1 (December 2009) (Came out before the 6th and final issue of Flash: Rebirth)
Flash #1 (Brightest Day) (April 2010) (10 issues, 13 months)
Flash #1 (September 2011)
Frequent delays, content changes, having the end of the arc ruined, all sorts of relaunches… It hasn’t been a great time to be a Flash fan. Sure, the content is generally very well regarded when it arrives, but for fans who are used to getting their comic every month, Flash has been about the most disappointing title that DC publishes in that regard for 3 years.
But making things ever worse is a non-Geoff Johns-written comic being released this week:
APR110099 Green Lantern Emerald Warriors #11 (War Of GL) 2.99
You see, this book is an aftermath book to Geoff Johns’ “War Of The Green Lanterns” crossover that’s been running for the past few months. It takes place after the War is over–an epilogue to the series. Have you guessed why this is distressing? It’s because the last issue of War Of The Green Lanterns hasn’t ended yet. The last part is Green Lantern #67, written by Geoff Johns, and which has been moved from it’s original ship date of June 15th to… July 13th.
Now, frankly, I don’t personally give a fuck. I don’t really read these books, but I do pay attention. This isn’t the first time DC or Marvel have spoiled the ending of one of their own major crossovers because of lateness, editorial incompetence, or just not really giving a fuck themselves. I feel like while it’s my job to sell these books to people (and I enjoy my job) anyone who’s buying them knows what they’re getting into by now. It’s admittedly one of the crappier parts of my job, but it’s not all sunshine and roses here in the comic book trenches.
No, why I’m even bothering to write this blog entry, is this guy, Geoff Johns, is the guy in charge of relaunching the entire DC Universe in September. 52 brand new comics, all hinging on Geoff Johns and Jim Lee (another fine creator not known for being timely) and their Justice League ongoing series, and that’s kinda fucked up right there. DC has chosen to make Geoff Johns the public face of this relaunch, Johns has seemingly willingly stepped into the role, and every book he’s involved with right now has massive scheduling and timeliness problems.
I don’t say any of this to be cruel, to take a shot at DC when they’re trying something exciting and new, to rain on their parade. But it’s been rattling around in the back of my head since the announcement, and the release of two fairly major fuckups within the DCU this Wednesday, both directly tied to Johns? Well, I felt like it was at least worth noting.
- Chris
18 Comments. Posted by Chris on Tuesday, June 28, 2011 at 1:26 pm.
Filed under Retailing.