Comics vets will undoubtedly remember Marie Javins, the popular Marvel editor who worked on the 2099 line, Epic line, Hellstrom Akira, Earth X and so forth. She’s also worked as a colorist, and just spent three months in Kuwait editing for the Arabic publisher Teshkeel. Comics aside, since leaving Marvel, Marie has become something of a dedicated globetrotter, taking off to points known and unknown and having enough adventures to fill a book. In fact, they have filled a book, called STALKING THE WILD DIK-DIK, which tells of her journey from Cape Town to Cairo by land in 2005. Marie gave some more info on the tale.

“In Stalking the Wild Dik-Dik, I am chased by a hippo, stalked by a small antelope, survive a truck accident in Ethiopia, and vomit my way through Sudan with a cracked rib and walking pneumonia. Travel is fun.”

But why? Why would a nice girl like Marie give up a life of luxury for unknown dysentery? “It was either go around the world for a year or color X-Force and label trade paperback film the for rest of my life. Thirteen years of Marvel Comics was enough, though I’m now back in comics at Teshkeel. I spent three months at Teshkeel’s Kuwait office earlier this year, helping them reprint Marvel, DC, and Archie Comics in Arabic for the Middle East and North Africa. I edit their original material, “The 99″ (not out yet in the States). A girl’s gotta eat, and following your dreams doesn’t pay very well.”

The trip covered in the book is only one leg of Marie’s travel. In 2001 she went around the world for a year. “It isn’t the travel so much that I like. I don’t really spend a lot of time in museums or tourist attractions. It’s more the challenge of the unknown, the constant barrage of unexpected situations that makes me think on my feet. On the road, one minute you’re sitting in a safari truck among lions, and the next minute you’re matching wits with a bus company tout determined to sell you an overpriced ticket to somewhere you don’t want to go, while a kid in a knock-off Spider-man T-shirt tugs at your backpack and offers you a keychain and a pair of socks, and seven people discuss your request for directions. Then, ultimately, you negotiate with a teen on a scooter to give you a lift on the back. It’s more the thrill of the chase, not the actual destination.”

As for the future, “If this book has any success at all, I’m planning to go do a “MariesWorldTour.com” of West Africa,” she says, starting in mid-2007. “I’d keep an online daily diary at www.NoHurryInAfrica.com, same as I did on MariesWorldTour. I want to start in London and go to Cape Town without a plan, going from Spain to Morocco by sea and then by bus, taxi, and local transport through Mauritania, Senegal, Mali, and so on, all the way down to Angola and on to Nambiia, then Cape Town from there. This route wasn’t even open until recently, because of strife in Congo and Angola.”

DIK-DIK is also proof of the power of internet marketing and having friends whose internet readers hang on their every whim. “Last week, my book was at #800,000 on the Amazon charts. Then Warren Ellis recommended it on his site. It went to #13,000 within two hours. When I initially left for MariesWorldTour.com, Warren got all his fans from the Warren Ellis Forum to email me “Please don’t die.” It was hit-or-miss a few times, but I lived through it.”

Visit Marie’s blog for more updates and amazing pictrues from her vaults that truly capture the spirit of 90s Marvel. We stole the picture above, but it dates from just a few days ago, as Marie, Michael Kraiger and the man known only as Pond Scum got all dressed up for the wedding of former Marvel artist Yancy Labat. Marie was his best (Wo)Man. Is there anything this woman can’t do?

The original edition of the one-volume BONE collection sold out of 50,000 copies fairly quickly, but the new printing of 20,000 is just shipping now and is ALREADY unavilable from Diamond. Here’s the PR:

The BONE: One Volume Edition is back in print and will be in stores this week. However, the books are completely sold out at Diamond, which is the exclusive distributor of this title.

Jeff Smith, the cartoonist of BONE and co-owner of publisher Cartoon Books said, ” We were surprised to get a call from Jim Kuhoric of Diamond Comic Distributors telling us that they shipped the entire print run of 20,000 copies out to stores this week. The Diamond warehouse is empty! Plans are being made to go back to press immediately.”

This current printing of the BONE: One Volume Edition has a new cover and is technically the seventh printing of the 1300 page graphic novel. It retails for $39.95US.

Cartoon Books debuted the BONE: OVE in 2004 at the San Diego Comic-Con International and went out of print a year later to make way for the new color editions being put out by Bone’s new publisher Graphix, an imprint of Scholastic Books, Inc.

Citing their belief that the huge success of the color books proved that there would be room for more than one version in the marketplace, a rare agreement was made earlier this Spring between Cartoon Books and Graphix/Scholastic allowing the return of the original black & white compendium.

Okay we’re on vacation and don’t have time to dig into this with the complete abandon that it might require. So we’ll just point The Peanut Gallery in the right direction. It starts, apparently, with this post from John Byrne on his forum in answer to a reader’s question:

Wasn’t the ending to Alpha Flight #12 spoiled at a comic convention by another comic professional?

***

Peter David handed out xeroxes of Guardian’s death at a con about a month before the book shipped.

To which PAD replies:

Nnnnnno. A popular lie of John’s, but no. Number one, it wasn’t at a convention; it was at a get-together for retailers. Number two, it wasn’t Guardian’s death. It was an unlettered two page dream sequence in which Heather was seeing a dessicated Guardian tearing out the ground. Number three, it was part of a package of about two dozen photocopied highlights from assorted Marvel titles. Number four, the material in question was handed to me by Denny O’Neil, the book’s editor when I–in my capacity as sales manager at the time–was going around collecting material to put into the package. And when I said to him, “Are you sure you want me to include this in the material?” Denny replied, “Sure, what’s the harm?” Number five, retailers at the get together had no idea that the sequence actually indicated that Guardian really died. I know this because when John showed up at the get-together, he looked at the material, screamed at me at the top of his lungs, “How could you be showing this to retailers?!? It gives away the fact that Guardian dies!” and stormed out of the room, slowing only long enough to kick over a standing ashtray on his way out. At which point stunned retailers said, “Guardian DIES?,” started looking at the xeroxes again, and were muttering, “I thought it was just a dream sequence…”

Marion Vitus writes to say that Friends of Lulu is planning a new anthology, “The Girls’ Guide to Guys’ Stuff” and they have posted a call for entries:

The Friends of Lulu, the national organization devoted to promoting women in comics, are in search of lady cartoonists for our next anthology, “The Girls’ Guide to Guy Stuff.” We’re looking for humorous takes on guys and the cool or stupid things they do.

You might write about:

Something usually associated with guys that you love.

Something men love that drives you absolutely nuts.

Some unique experience your guy friend told you about.

Playing with “boys’ toys.”

The submissions we’ve received so far range in topic from video games, sports, record collecting, comic convention etiquette, love of Terminator, desert car racing, and boobs, to a jazz legend who disguised herself for decades as a man. There are a few stories about individual male friends who’ve made strong impressions on the artists, or had memorable, unique experiences.

Your story can be autobiographical, a tribute, or take any other clever approach you can think of. We’re keeping the book light hearted and humorous, so no dramas about why your ex is the worst person ever. (Unless, of course, there are some really hilarious circumstances behind it.)

If you’re interested in participating, please e-mail lulu@mkreed.com and let us know.

(more…)

Believe it or not, we’re loathe to pass along unsourced rumors and unverified fact, but this is just too funny. As we said, we failed to find a quote to back this up, so please treat this as pure imagination unless we get some outside verification. But it is funny.

While being held prisoner during his trial for genocide, Saddam Hussein is forced to repeatedly watch himself as the Devil’s gay lover in the South Park movie. It may be the first time Hussein has ever seen his cartoon counterpart, since he banned the movie in Iraq for betraying him as a homosexual. South Park creator Matt Stone says:

“I have it on pretty good information from the Marines on detail in Iraq that they showed him the movie. That’s really adding insult to injury. I bet that made him really happy.”

Writer Mark Verheidens reveals some of the inspiration behind the new Bruce Campbell film:

I’ve also been a fan of Bruce Campbell’s since EVIL DEAD 2, which I (honestly) consider one of the great movies of the 1980’s. I’ve been lucky enough to actually work with Bruce on a project (an episode of the late, mostly unlamented TIMECOP series I did for ABC back in ‘97), and ever since I’ve been scheming to find a way to do a movie with him. Enter my friend Mike Richardson, who also knew Bruce, and who also happens to own Dark Horse Entertainment. When he told me he’d lined up financing for some lower-budget features, I pitched him my BRUCE idea. What if Mr. C were kidnapped by some small town folks who mistook him from the hero from the EVIL DEAD movie? And when he actually does battle with some demonic force, he’s hopelessly incompetent? And why is this blog suddenly like a Donald Rumsfeld monologue?

What indeed? The mind runs rampant.

James Kochalka’s video for the first hit single off his new album is up on YouTube.

Say, does anyone out there know how to buy an obelisk?

We’re officially on vacation now, but will be posting a few tidbits just because we’re nice.

We should also mention that since we’re in Maine, we’ve been discussing the ongoing Mystery Beast Phenomenon, and we’ve heard some interesting discussion. For instance, the corpse was said to have been picked clean in three days…but judging by the way a dead porcupine sits by the side of the road here for months on end, that just doesn’t ring true. Rest assured, we’re on the case.

Farel Dalrymple posts all kinds of stuff at his LJ. Keep on truckin’, Kurt Wagner! Click for larger image or go to the link for all kinds of goodness.

Speaking of Todd McFarlane, in addition to his other feats, he’s also a Grammy-winning video director, and he has a new animated video out for Disturbed’s cover of Genesis’ “Land of Confusion”. Watch here.
Windows:
Small
Medium
Large

QT:
Small
Medium
Large

Southwest fixture Todd McFarlane is the subject of another site visit, this one to his home, which will be featured on MTV Cribs in September:

What is visible is a palette of soft colors, flowered curtains and Victorian furniture.

The home is elegant, classy and nothing at all like the lairs from which his characters often emerge.

‘‘I like comfortable, usable rooms,'’ says the 45-year-old entrepreneur, owner of McFarlane Toys of Tempe. Besides his rep as a toy creator (though his ‘‘toys'’ are aimed at comic-book-loving adults), McFarlane is also an animator, music video director and sports memorabilia collector.

Jeff Parker posts Tomm Coker’s cover to AGENTS OF ATLAS #4 which presents the return of a character you never thought you’d see…Namora!

We’re a little late running the news of this benefit anthology, but better late than never. 


American-Israeli Publisher, Mahrwood Press Ltd. has announced a special project to benefit children suffering from the situation in northern Israel.

BALM IN GILEAD will be a prestige anthology featuring the top names in comics and genre literature. All proceeds go directly toward feeding, clothing and housing children via the Levuneshama (Heart and Soul) Organization in Tzvat, Israel (http://www.levuneshama.org).
BALM IN GILEAD combines the efforts of Neal Adams, Jon Bogdanove, Dave Cockrum, Jack Dann, Peter David, Colleen Duran, David Gerrold, Harvey Jacobs, Jeffrey Jones, Michael William Kaluta (cover), Joe Kubert, Stan Lee, William Messner-Loebs, Dan Mishkin, Robin Riggs, Joe Rubinstein, Robert Silverberg, William Tenn, and Len Wein. Additional creators will be announced in weeks to come. The anthology will be edited by Clifford Meth.

“The only bright spots in the wake of all this destruction are the unselfish acts of people who just want to help other people,� said Clifford Meth. “In light of that sentiment and the talent we’ve assembled, we anticipate an eventful book.�

Neal Adams added, “As a comic book artist, there is a certain guilt factor because we are paid money to draw pictures. Therefore when an opportunity to contribute to society arises, we take it up.�

Jerusalem Post has a news story on the effort:

“I had been contacted by an American Jewish publisher to do an insert to solicit funds for children in the North, but I wanted to do something bigger, something in the US,” said Eric Mahr, Mahrwood’s president, who enlisted for the project the help of artists including Stan Lee, the creator of Spiderman and The Fantastic Four, and Neal Adams, a leading contemporary comic artist most famous for his work on the Batman and X-Men series. Other participants include Marv Wolfman, the creator of Blade, Robert Silverberg, a popular science fiction writer, and Dave Cockrum, a co-creator of the X-Men series.

Don McPherson and Randy Lander, the Roeper and Ebert of comics critics, are ending The Fourth Rail, their long running review site, after five years. You can read their tearful farewell in the link.

However, fear not, for both have plans to continue reviewing. Lander is joining up with David Farabee of AICN some other critical types to launch Comic Pants, a new review and commentary blog.

Joining Lander and Farabee in this endeavor are Nick Budd and David Martindale. Martindale also serves as lead designer and technician for the new site. All four writers work at Dragon’s Lair Comics in Round Rock, Texas.

Comic Pants is anchored by “Wednesday Number Ones”, a weekly feature updating every Wednesday morning that will provide commentary on every first issue coming to comic shops that day. In addition, the site will feature regularly updated reviews from all four contributors, Lander’s popular Previews forecast column “Down the Line” and more.

Comic Pants is a serious review site with a sense of humor, as indicated by the unusual name, which was suggested by Dave Farabee during a brainstorming session.

“We wanted something that would stick in peoples’ minds,” said Lander. “And hey, you’ll remember Comic Pants, right?”

In addition to reviews and other text-based content, the Comic Pants team expects to begin providing podcasts as of mid-to-late September.

Indeed, once heard, Pants are hard to forget. While review and commentary blogs are proliferating faster than nuclear weapons, given its pedigree, this one should be worth checking out.

teachers nude

Thus some markets have “Receiving Party Pays” models (also known as “Mobile Party Pays”), in which both outbound and received calls are charged, and other markets have “Calling Party Pays” models, by which only making calls produces costs, and receiving calls is free.

We’re in transit and for the moment we’re just going to post all the pretty pictures we can dig up. Don’t like it? it’s my way or the highway around here, bub.

Mark Evanier marks what would have been the King’s 89th birthday:

I miss Jack. I miss the guy the same way you miss that favorite uncle you always enjoyed being around. But I also miss just having a Jack Kirby in our midst…a man who just radiated creative energy and who made everyone he met feel a little more like a writer or artist. That was because he lived and breathed new ideas, new visions, new vistas. Young, wanna-be artists and writers went to him with their work seeking…well, some were seeking career help and others were seeking tips, but I think a lot of them just wanted semi-parental approval and the reassurance that they were breathing the same air as an idol. He encouraged everyone and they all went away with more confidence…because the King of the Comics stood on no ceremony. He treated everyone as an equal, even though no one really was.

Best Nancy Cartoon Ever.

“The Tao is that from which nothing can depart.”

[Link via Boing Boing]

This weekend’s big video game/webcomic event was a convention thrown by a couple of webcomickers, PAX namelyPenny Arcade gang, Tycho and Gabe. Both Kotaku and Joystiq, the main vidgame blogs have extensive coverage. The big news is a new video game from Hothead Games based on PENNY ARCADE (pr in the jump.) Since PENNY ARCADE is a webcomic based on video game humor, you see the Moebius nature of the strip.

Attendance was pegged at 17,000, and based on photos posted at the Penny Arcade site (one of which we’ve ganked), if you are a boy geek looking for a place to geek out with other boy geeks, this is the place for you!

Kotaku summarizes the weekend:

It was three days of bouncing blue balls, moms, concerts and game play. Three days of gamers getting a chance to connect and play.

That’s what makes PAX so unique, I think. It’s not just for gamers, it’s about them. They’re the show, Tycho and Gabe are just along for the ride.

If I had 17,000 friends and the money, patience and wherewithal to throw a party, I’d like to think it would be a little bit like this.

Joystiq touches on the widespread feeling that PAX will become the new E3:

E3 was a hot topic of debate — even Major Nelson called it a mystery for Microsoft — and all the panelists were unsure about the methods of coverage that will be available to them next year. An audience member mentioned that the Consumer Electronics Association (producers of that little Vegas show known as CES) are considering filling the gap, as we mentioned earlier this month, but it was still clear that future gaming shows are quite the mystery other than this weekend’s obvious hit: PAX.

Joystiq also has coverage of a music competition of some sort, that resulted in a guitar destroying episode by Jerry “Tycho” Holkins.

Tycho and Penny Arcade’s biz dude Robert Khoo started round four of the Omegathon correct with an intense round of STP’s “Trippin’ on a Hole in a Paper Heart” in Guitar Hero II … on Expert … twice (it crashed half way through the first time). Then, ’cause he can, Tycho smashed his guitar. I wanted to yell out, say something about how starving kids in Africa don’t even have guitar controllers at all, but the spirit of the evening washed over me, and my outrage morphed into delight.

That sound you hear is webcomickers crossing over into rock star/diva territory, but considering the success of their strip, this behavior is both earned and timely.

More pictures here.

(more…)

Kevin at Blog@Newsarama has an interesting factoid from Chris Mautner’s article on LOST GIRLS:

But the article also looks at Top Shelf’s financial wager on Lost Girls, something I’ve not seen much of in mainstream media coverage. According to the Patriot-News, the first two printings of the $264-page book cost the publisher “in the realm of $300,000.�

“It is a very big investment, but it looks like it will pay off,� Staros tells the newspaper. “I was never really worried. I know if we hawked it properly, it would sort of look after itself.� He also says initial orders have exceeded the first printings.

That’s a lot of cheddar.

Simon at Icarus Publishing boils down that article on the evolving editorial slant of Shonen Jump that ComiPress linked to last week, and boils it down into something a bit more comprehensible–and illuminating:

1. Shonen Jump is marketed to boys, but it has a silent, but significant, number of female readers. Significant enough, at least, for Jump to consider this editorial change.
2. The increasing �fan service� for female readers risks alienating male readers, Jump’s core audience.
3. However, female fans may not necessarily embrace the new changes either, finding them contrived, and a needless alteration of the magazine’s overall feel.
4. A segment of the female readers of Jump do not identify themselves as Jump’s audience, and hide their existence as not to influence and change the magazine’s flavor. Let that sink in for a moment…
5. Here’s something that is peripheral to the article, but might be of interest to aspiring OEL creators: Japanese editors exercise a great deal of creative influence on the manga artists they oversee (a prerequisite for the kind of magazine-wide changes this article talks about.)

So to sum up, this would be like the editors of, of say, THE LEGION suddenly putting in homoerotic subtext to appeal to a growing female fanbase. Dear, dear, dear. What is the world coming to?

[LInk via Manga Blog]

Justice turns swiftly in Iran, it seems, as the managing editor of the Iranian newspaper that in May ran a cartoon insulting to the Azeri ethnic minority, has been acquitted:

The state-owned newspaper “Iran� was suspended on May 23 after publishing a cartoon that offended Azeris and led to several days of unrest in the northwestern Azerbaijan province.

“I accept that we were not careful enough in publishing that cartoon but undoubtedly we did not mean to insult our Azeri-speaking compatriots,� Gholamhossein Islamifard was quoted as saying by the daily Etemad, when speaking in his defense.

The newspaper reported his acquittal. A judiciary official confirmed the daily’s managing director had been acquitted but gave no further details.

Cartoonist Mana Neyestani is still awaiting trial, and the paper remains banned.

If you are wondering why we’re taking a break from link-blogging, the follow of three headlines say it all in spades and with a bag of chips:

Graphic Novels Take a Huge Step Forward

Graphic novels the hot new library item

And, finally, the headline that we have been waiting to read for nigh on 30 years now:

Graphic novel makes ordinary life extraordinary.

Our mission is complete, wouldn’t you say?

Cinematical tracks down the latest on the proposed CAVALIER AND KLAY movie after author Michael Chabon posted some rather discouraging sounding things on his blog.

I was unable to find any further info in culling the usual sites for Chabon updates, so I went straight to the source — or the next best thing — Chabon’s wife, author Ayelet Waldman, who confirmed that … Kavalier and Clay “has not been greenlit.”