Just to back up what we were trying to tell you the other day, a lot of high profile comics may not have shipped on Wednesday, but there were still a few things to read and buy as Warren Ellis pointed out in one of his Bad Signal mailings:

In the early hours of the morning, Gillen confirmed something that’d occurred to me previously in the day.

Vagiaries of shipping and ordering aside, it’s conceivable that you could walk into a comics store today and for ten American dollars walk out with FELL 6 by me, CASANOVA 3 by Fraction, WASTELAND 2 by Antony Johnston and PHONOGRAM 1 by Gillen.

All a certain kind of comic: intelligent pop, if you like. And all four of us shooting the shit about this kind of comic on the old Warren Ellis Forum a few years ago.

It’s kind of interesting to me, and pleasing, that we were all published on the same day this month.

Gillen had an email from someone, saying that it’s like the WEF won after all. Not a bad thought to end the week on

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We don’t normally run a lot of sell-out PR, but this one is notable in that it’s a book from Image. 16,000 isn’t a civil war type number, but it’s quite healthy for a book in the Indie range and it’s nice to see a quality project like this find an audience.

Active Images announces that its new baby, ELEPHANTMEN, has done just what Doctor Nikken, the mastermind behind the Unhumans’ creation, hoped: they’ve been released en masse on an unsuspecting human public. Issue #1 of ELEPHANTMEN from Image Comics has officially sold out of its 16,000-copy first printing. Retailers and fans can rest easy; a second printing is on its way. ELEPHANTMEN was deemed Best of the Week of its release by Fourth Rail.

Launched at Comic-Con International: San Diego at the end of July, it has taken less than a month to burn through all 16,000 copies printed. A combination of factors contributed to this success: astoundingly positive reviews in both comic and mainstream publications, Ladrönn’s Eisner win for Best Painter/Multimedia Artist (HIP FLASK: MYSTERY CITY), a regular, monthly schedule for a world that fans continue to fall in love with, and most important, word of mouth from lively and loyal fans.

HIP FLASK and ELEPHANTMEN creator, Richard Starkings, was asked for a comment but was found to have been knocked down with a feather.

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Today mobile payments ranging from mobile banking to mobile credit cards to mobile commerce are very widely used in Asia and Africa, and in selected European markets.

Second part of Darick Robertson podcast is up at Pensacola Journal. In it he discusses THE BOYS and his views on the modern comics industry.

feeling a xanax high give does

Today mobile payments ranging from mobile banking to mobile credit cards to mobile commerce are very widely used in Asia and Africa, and in selected European markets.

As you may have heard, a terrifying mystery beast was recently found slain in a deserted copse off a lonely road up in rustic Maine. Not far from Stephen King’s house in fact! We like the way practical Mainers handle finding a terrifying mystery beast: they were smart enough to take pictures of the body while it was still relatively intact, but perhaps intimidated by the powerful stench of evil and danger surrounding its corpse, they left it where it lay after having bit hit by a car, so by the time authorities found the body it had been PICKED CLEAN — by VULTURES! Sweet!

Famed Cryptozoologist Loren Coleman paid a visit to the remains of the corpse and recounts how locals had differing theories over where the hellspawn had come from:

One person offered that the animal may have mutated after roaming near a toxic waste dump. At least one person suggested the creature may be extraterrestrial in origin. Others insist that there is an unknown breed of animal roaming the Maine woods from the southern part of the state to the northern woods.

Coleman’s analysis was that despite some anomalies it was probably a Chow or Akita gone wild, a mundane explanation that much of the world is now accepting.

But not all of them. The mystery beast is likely to live on in the imagination experts say:

“Having scientific evidence is not going to kill this story. It’s like an unslayable monster that will keep coming back,” said Elizabeth Eames, chair of the anthropology department at Bates College in Lewiston. “Humans like to categorize things. They like to fit them into neat, little boxes. Those things that don’t fit become sacred. They become sacred and profane.”

Sacred and profane. Despite the probable terrestrial origins of the beast — as one of our pals put it “It was probably named Toby.” — we prefer to believe that not everything can be known. And having lived in the Maine woods for a while ourselves, we know there are lots of things out there that remain wild and mysterious down by that old deserted graveyard.

The official ACT-I-VATE Wave 3 teaser went up today, and it’s pretty stunning. We recognize Jason Little right off the bat, as well as Mike Dawson. This is gonna be good! We also have to note that the Act-I-Vaters have really put this idea of an LJ based web-comics community to very good use, and have stuck with it for quite a while.

Dark Horse has created a Flash-heavy but nonetheless nifty preview of LONELY HEART the new art book by painter and cartooner Tara McPherson.cum free moviesmovies clips sample sexsex movie homefree erotica sapphic moviesnude movies beachmovie sex disneymovies lesbian hentairead movie to scripts Map

ICv2 has a report this morning on HarperCollins imprint Zondervan launching a line of religion-themed graphic novels for KIDS that will be sold in Christian bookstores, comics shops and book shops.

Zondervan will launch a new line of graphic novels under its Zonderkidz children’s imprint in August of 2007. Twelve books will be released that month — both the first and second volumes of six different series. Zonderkidz will release the books in manga format, with from 160 to over 200 pages for $9.99 MSRP.

Five of the initial six series will be created for Zonderkidz in English. The sixth is a manhwa Bible series by Young Shin Lee and Jung Sun Hwang. All six series will be in eight volume arcs.

[snip]According to Bruce Nuffer, Associate Publisher of Zonderkidz, the publishing program was designed after years of study of the graphic novel and Christian bookstore markets. “We’ve been looking at it for a long time,” Nuffer said. The goal was to determine what obstacles existed to making Christian graphic novels successful, and to overcome them.

Of course, the item of most inetrest to casual comics watchers is the involvement of Alias’ Mike Miller, via Community Comics, which is packaging the books for Zondervan.

That’s the official name of FF2 according to Superhero Hype:

In the sequel, the enigmatic, intergalactic herald, The Silver Surfer, comes to Earth to prepare it for destruction. As the Silver Surfer races around the globe wreaking havoc, Reed, Sue, Johnny and Ben must unravel the mystery of The Silver Surfer and confront the surprising return of their mortal enemy, Dr. Doom, before all hope is lost.

Doug Jones (Ape Sapien in Hellboy) is rumored to be playing the Silver Surfer.

As someone pointed out in the comments (WE LOVE THE COMMENTS!) Adam Hughes talks about his sure-to-be-pretty-but-slow stint on ALL-STAR WONDER WOMAN over at the Byrne Board in comments posted weeks ago but more timely now than ever:

First up, “Then you read that Adam Hughes is going to do a monthly”. Ouch. Not sure if that puppy I ran over last week was Chuck’s, but now I’m thinking it was…

Secondly, I am not doing a ‘monthly’. My commitment to ALL-STAR WONDER WOMAN is for 6 issues. My schedule is to hand in 10 pages, pencilled and inked, a month. The issues will be released monthly, on-time, because we’re starting far enough in advance. You will get your ALL-STAR WONDER WOMAN every four weeks.

Although i’s unknown how much Hughes has in the can, it’s safe to say it will be a little while before these start coming out. Hughes also speaks eloquently for the artists who work on a less than monthly pace:

Next, may I be allowed to take umbrage at the suggestion that anyone who does not/can not create a monthly comic is either casual or (more offensively) unprofessional and irresponsible. I realize that this is the wrong place to suggest this, but the notion that you are not a real comic artist if you can’t do a monthly book is archaic. Prolific masters like John Byrne and Jack Kirby are the exceptions, not the rule. Would you call Neal Adams unprofessional or irresponsible, just because HE never did a monthly book? All 12 issues of WATCHMAN didn’t ship on time; is Dave Gibbons therefore merely a casual dabbler in our medium? Anyone care to call Brian Bolland names for being slow? Perhaps KILLING JOKE should have been given to a DC artist who was doing a monthly book, as a reward for productivity.

I’m sorry that I cannot do a comic a month; I wish I could. So does my accountant. But I cannot. “A man’s got to know his limitations” as a wise man with a loaded gun once said. I know what I can and cannot do. Faced with the choice of hacking out a mediocre Adam Hughes comic 12 times a year or working at my own natural pace and doing work that I can be proud of, I personally choose quality over quantity. It’s not for everyone, it’s just how this cat is wired. I don’t think EVERYONE should slow down and work at this pace. I think everyone should find their niche and excel at what they do best.

Aside from playing the WATCHMEN card, it’s a thoughtful response from an artist who is definitely worth waiting for.

Ack.

If this really were a war movie, Marvel editor Tom Brevoort would be the tough sergeant who tries to get everyone out alive but doesn’t make too many friends along the way. John Glenn, say. He really went above and beyond at Newsarama, answering posters questions into the small hours of the night. His answers didn’t make everyone happy, but he stood by his guns, and showed, we think, commendable candor.

A few selections:

My point is that the only reason our industry runs on a thirty day cycle is because it’s a holdover from the days when comic books were newsstand-oriented periodicals, and everybody’s used to that. But if you look at the entire field over the last five years, you can see that starting to change. And, like with any change, not everybody is going to be equally comfortable with it.

We put out monthly comics because that’s the way we’ve always largely done it. But the reason for why the comics are produced monthly in this format has kind of fallen away–and because of this fact, you’ve begun to see a metamorphosis in the way the industry operates, in my opinion.

and

Originally Posted by Bobo Da Hobo

I love Tom Breevort. If you disagree with him, you hate Marvel Comics, simple as that

Well, no, not really.

But if you spell my name wrong, then you clearly hate Marvel Comics.

and

I could have stuck somebody else onto CIVIL WAR in a fill-in capacity and been pretty confident that the sales numbers would have held up all the way through the end of the series–the momentum is clearly that strong. But as I said in the main piece, I’m trying to take a long-term view on this, which also means taking into account the shelf life of the eventual collection, and the reader enthusiasm going into the CIVIL WAR spin-out titles and everything else that’s coming up in the Marvel U next year. I think it’s pretty plain that the casualty of the negative downturn in reader response to the end of CIVIL WAR was the ONE YEAR LATER books. And so, I choose to learn from that.

Along the way he also discloses that Mark Millar has yet to finish the script to issue 7, but just turned in his final, 7th draft of the script to #6. So that should settle that.

Whose side are you on? No really. Retailers, readers or publishers/creators? The news of Civil War #4’s lateness, Marvel’s resultant line rescheduling and apologies/explanations from various members of the creative team split the internet in…several pieces yesterday, as a perfect storm of all the issues facing periodical comics came together in one great fell swoop of internet chatter that culminated with Bryan Hitch suggesting internet posters go out and lose their virginity. Truly, it was a day that would be long remembered by all.

It was a day of venting, spewing and foaming, but it did raise many issues that speak to the VERY CORE of today’s comic book business, so we’re going to have a go at it.
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It seems that the AMAZING FANTASY #15 giveaway in the NY Post we wrote of yesterday is but one example of a huge project that will see weekly Spider-man comics given away in 122 newspaper until the end of the year. The Chicago Sun Times is one such paper:

The Sun-Times has snared Spider-Man.

Starting Sunday and continuing through December, Sun-Times readers will find reprints of the original Amazing Spider-Man comic book series inside their Sunday paper.

The first insert will be the debut book, “Amazing Fantasy” No. 15, which introduced Spider-Man in August of 1962, followed by the first issue in the “Amazing Spider-Man” series, originally published in March of 1963. After the initial insert, each issue will be split up, to appear in two parts on consecutive Sundays.

The Sun-Times is one of 122 newspapers nationwide that will reissue the series as part of a licensing agreement between Marvel Entertainment and News America Marketing.

The inserts also will run in six Sun-Times sister papers, in Aurora, Elgin, Joliet, Naperville, Waukegan and Gary.

Jinkies! This is part of a plot announced last November hatched between Marvel and a division of News Corp., Rupert Murdoch’s publishing arm (will there be comics on MySpace next?)

In our humble opinion, THIS, not CIVIL WAR #4 is probably the most earth shattering news of the day. Haven’t we been crying for years about getting comics in front of the general mass audience? AND HERE IT IS! FINALLY! We won! We did it! The air is nice here at the top of Everest. Now, you could argue that maybe these 40-year old comics are too old fashioned to capture the fancy of today’s hot rodders and hippie kids with their new fangled LPs and what not…but on the other hand, they are timeless classics that have been entertaining folks for those 40 years, and may actually be more palatable to the more mature newspaper reading audience. From what we’ve been able to gather, the kids already think comics are pretty darned cool.

The PR isn’t too clear on what comes after SPIDER-MAN #1 — will it be more Lee/Ditko? Will it jump ahead to other epics like Gwen Stacy, Venom, the Clone, and the Other? Will there be Comics Shop Locater info in the inserts? Will they come with Pez? Can we use them as bedding in the case of a terrorist attack? Are they collectible? We just don’t know. But this is the kind of mega-sized promotion that everyone has been asking for for years and years. Celebrate. With great circulation comes great responsibility.

Alex Saviuk/Will Eisner Escapist pages, pulled due to a permissions issue, are now back online:

Thirty years later, when Eisner agreed to contribute a story to Michael Chabon’s Dark Horse comic book, “The Escapist,” he asked Saviuk to help him with some of the finer detail. The story, in which Eisner’s Spirit meets the Escapist, became Eisner’s final work; he literally sent off the pages in December 2004 before he went to the hospital complaining of chest pains and difficulty breathing.

Comic Foundry VideoBlog#2 at Rocketship, atch this and The Beat’s and make your own Rashomon!

The Brill Building has a stylish new design! We love it!

“At the end of the day” most common media cliche. We used it just yesterday…shame.

Dynamite Entertainment is known for its licensed books, like RED SONJA and ARMY OF DARKNESS and HIGHLANDER and so on, but a recent press release for an OGN called STREET MAGIK by Luke Lieberman, Kevin McCarthy and Rodney Buchemi caught our eye. DE previously put out Jim Starlin’s KID KOSMOS, but is this something they are moving into?

When asked, a Dynamite representative stated “Dynamite is always to willing to publish the right story, in the right format. For some, that’s a monthly book, like Red Sonja, new Battlestar Galactica, Army of Darkness and for others, it’s a “graphic novelâ€? such as Street Magik or Kid Kosmos. With Street Magik, the story works bets in one sitting as Luke wrote it as a screenplay, and while we could have broken it up and published monthly, the full impact is best read in one volume of great storytelling.”

Okee doke. PR in the jump.

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Naniwa at MangaCast continues his account of ComiKet, the world’s biggest comics show, with 300,000 attendees who are there to buy fan made comics. First comes the girl’s day:

Follow me again, as I stumble through Odaiba’s Big Site looking for manga and crafts in all the right places. I am glad I survived the lines but I almost did not make it through the huge PoT BL section. All the cosplayers were so cute (glad none of them were men… just like the manga… zing)!!!

And then, and then…comes Day 3, the day of the boys, a day that makes even San Diego sound like a well ventilated, low stress affair:

If you want to experience the worst of ComiKet show up on the last day - DAY 3. Today might be called guys day, but it really is otaku day. This is a stinky, sweaty, painful long drawn out full-on otaku war where the participants stand in line push each other roll over things with their luggage and never, never say sumimasen! That’s sorry for you newbies. Today is the gal game, dating sim, TYPE-MOON, Leaf-Key and original shonen-seinen day. It is also the day for original video games (you know where that’s going) and to call out the hardcore ladies the JUNE day!

I got to hang out with a fellow ComiKet pro-attendee for dinner and after comparing notes we both agreed Day 3 is not for the rookies. You need a couple of shows to get through that. That is particularly crucial if you go to the East Halls. The lines are outrageous. The heat is unbearable. The smell is deadly. Today is like the worst nightmare a Genshiken character could ever have at a comic con. Breaking/spraining a wrist might be a great way to escape this otaku hell.

We’ve attached a picture of ComiKet we found on this webpage. Click for a larger version and prepare to be astounded.
Wait we’re so astounded we stole another picture. Remember, this is ALL AMATEUR, DOUJINSHI ARTISTS.

Headline News
Did you know that comics AREN’T just for kids any more?

BUT ALSO: Despite their name…graphic novels CAN BE for kids!

WHAM! POW!

–Dave Roman at his LJ:

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[citation needed] In Japan, it is generally considered impolite to talk using long loan payday tem on any train — texting is generally the mode of mobile communication.

Over at Millarworld, Mark Millar has posted a message from CIVIL WAR artist Steve McNiven:

“Hey folks, just thought I should get a post up here. First up apologies to the fans and retailers of civil war. The responsibility for the art delays lies with me, period. I’ve been working harder than I ever have, (and this is my third profession), but this is the hardest project I’ve ever done and as Mark said, I had little lead time. It was as big a surprise to me as anyone else that Marvel changed its publishing schedule to allow Mark and I to finish the series together.

When I was sent word of this yesterday, I realized the problems that this will cause for readers and retailers immediately. After reading Hitchy’s post I am beginning to understand why Marvel went this way, but it still amazes me. Of course I am proud of the work I have done on Civil War and I am chuffed that Marvel feels the same way, but I worry for the people that could be negatively effected by this. Please realize that the art delays were never meant in a malicious way nor am I being a prima donna with my work. What I’m trying is to do service to the exceptional story that Mark has written. That’s it, and is all that I focus on when I’m at the table. I let Marvel know exactly where I am on a daily basis, from day one, so that they can make the decisions like the one they have made. I’ll continue to work hard to put out the rest of this series with the best work I can do in the time I have been given and I hope that you, the fans and retailers will stick with us, ’cause Mark has written a real gem here.

The “post from Hitchy” referred to is this in which he plays the WATCHMEN/DARK KNIGHT card and explains his own views on “on time” vs “good”

These days we have the benefit of hindsight and there are precedents. You can’t set out to create a classic or a series with longevity but it’s getting easier for publishers to spot them as they unfold because the collection market is so large now and one can see what works and what doesn’t. A fill-in might potentially stave off an unfortunate delay but hurt the long term property potential and the only reason a company would consider a fill-in necessary would be to avoid a financial hit in the short term not to keep you guys happy. If they are willing to take what must be a massive hit in the pocket, believing in it’s long term potential, to allow it’s creators to finish the book as intended then that isn’t really a bad thing.

If we do things the way they have always been done then we don’t develop. It pays to be flexible, I guess and Marvel obviously believe they are doing the best thing in the long game for a product they believe in and one that has already proven more successful than they belived possible.

Mark isn’t exaggerating when he talks of how quickly this thing was put together and the small lead time. Nobody had intended the book to even exist; other plans were in place but the geniuses of Bendis and especially Mighty Mark started the ball rolling that Mark would evolve into Civil War (which also means we have to find a new title for our big follow up, so thanks MM). It’s also been the biggest jobs of both Markie and Stevie’s careers and required an enormous amount of work from both. Watcmen was bi-monthly remember and wasn’t a crossover. I envy them their massive sucess but not the even more massive work involved. Nobody gets paid more for working harder in comics.

Mark and Steve should be applauded for the efforts as those efforts are a clear indicator of why the book is a success. Marvel should also be applauded for making sure everybody gets the best prossible product. It’s a delay guys, not a cancellation. Certainly not a crisis!

Setting aside the fact that Hitchy, God love him, has about the worst on-time record of any artist considered “regular”, the casual observer can’t help but imagine a world in which WATCHMEN becomes the centerpiece of a 20-title cross over. One also admires the adaptability of the Marvel staff, which is able to turn on a dime and change their entire publishing schedule after someone gets a good idea in a bar.

But the net effect is to calm the waters once again. The contrition from Millar and McNiven creates an air of forgiveness, as one of the very next posts after McNiven’s statement reads:

Draw Wolverine doing something cool and all is forgiven.

At the end of the day, THIS is why Marvel does this. They know they will suffer no long term effects from readers or retailers. If fans and retailers REALLY stopped buying Marvel books when they ran late, Marvel would stick to a schedule. But they don’t need to.

We don’t really follow the day to day announcements of Marvel and DC, except when they strike us in some larger sense, but yesterday’s shocker that CIVIL WAR #4 and 5 would be delayed by a month and two months, respectively, got even our attention. As ICv2’s recently released sales estimates show, CIVIL WAR #3 by Mark Millar and Steve McNiven sold just a skotch under 300K copies, making it a sales blockbuster by any estimate. But it gets worse: the mini-series is but the tentpole for a huge interconnected web of tie-in mini-series and crossover comics — in order to keep the story fresh, some 30 other titles will also be delayed.. Reaction among retailers and readers was flabbergasted. Of course, just about every other blockbuster tentpole of the last few years has had delays (HOUSE OF M) or else drastic “many hands” artistic line-ups (INFINITE CRISIS) and delays, but still.

Marvel’s statement to retailers was muted and understated:

We apologize for the inconvenience but feel that this is in the best interest of the quality of the event and for retailers to continue to realize the immense sales for these books. We are announcing these shifts early enough in the hopes that retailers can adjust their buying patterns for the next few months. Also, we hope the addition of a few more key Civil War titles will make up for any lost sales that result from these moves.

BUT WAIT THAT’S NOT ALL!
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Wired takes a look at doujinshi, visiting ComiKet and the gender-sepaated geek districts of Tokyo:

Higashi-Ikebukoro is one of Tokyo’s outermost neighborhoods, but it’s become a destination for female manga fans because the major manga store branches there specially stock works written by and for women. These specialty shops are six-, seven- and eight-story buildings filled from top to bottom with commercial and doujinshi manga, and tie-in products like figurines, trading cards and stationery. This area has become known as “Otome Road,” the female answer to Tokyo’s geek-centric Akihabara district.

When I visited Ikebukuro’s Mandarake store last week, the crowded aisles were packed with curious, energetic women purchasing all types of manga. There were aisles and aisles of fan-fiction doujinshi, and the women seemed to know exactly what they were looking for — particular characters drawn by particular artists.

Otome Road also includes the famed “Butler Cafes”. Down the road apiece, at the boy-geek hangout, the writer finds…other things…

Akiba’s manga clientele is almost all men, and many of these cry out “geek” in any culture you can name: for example, one guy with his pants pulled up around his rib cage, wearing his cell phone on a lanyard around his neck with a pack of AA batteries stuffed in his shirt pocket.

[Link via Love Manga]

When it first started in 2002, Free Comic Book Day was specifically tied in to the release day of the original SPIDER-MAN film. For the next few years, the fledgling promotion wasn’t considered strong enough to fly on its own, and in 2003 moved from the first weekend in May to the July 4th weekend to tie in with the release of, believe it or not Ang Lee’s HULK. Moving the date to a national holiday wasn’t a success, and by that point retailers and publishers realized that a comic book was as good as a ice cream cone, in its own way, and decided FCBD could stand on its own, without having to ride on the coattails of a film.

But in 2007, the original duo has reunited, Simon and Garfunkel-like! FCBD will take place on May 5, the day after Spider-Man 3 opens. The boys are back in town!

Free Comic Book Day is set to be celebrated around the world on May 5, 2007. Traditionally held the first Saturday in May, the event will both celebrate and raise awareness of this unique art form by giving visitors to approximately 2,000 participating comic book specialty stores a free comic book with no purchase required! Free Comic Book Day 2007 will coincide with opening weekend of Sony’s North American release of the highly anticipated comic-based movie, Spider-Man 3, starring Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst.

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TIME.com 0quotes Gizmodo editor name-checking SHOOTING WAR:

What social or technical features would you like to see enter the world of blogging?
I’d really like to see it become as easy as talking to a group of people…I would like it to be more fluid. There is this web comic called Shooting War; it got picked up in the Village Voice and it’s this really cool web comic about blogging in 2011 in Iraq. The war is still going on and the blogger does everything by video because it’s easier than typing. The fact of it is that the web comic shows the future of blogging as being more flowing, more conversational.

Blog@Newsarama adds Carla Hewitt and Melissa Krause, aka Kalinara.

Moriarty rumbles from the lab with a review of LOST GIRLS at AICN.Seriously!

Moore knows full well that his slow and steady stroke as a storyteller is all aiming towards an eventual release, and when his stories all come to a fitting climax, it really is completely satisfying. [spoiler snip]. Would you deny anyone free reign over their imagination? Would you ever tell anyone that they can’t dream like this? The book will challenge your own response to that question, whatever you think your answer is now. .

Draco Malfoy at Carp Tournament:

Steely Dan vs Wes Anderson

Starting August 19th, you’ll be able to see the anime Shin Chan on Adult Swim. The premiere is Saturday at 10:30. After that it airs for a couple of weeks at 12:30 am.

We’ve not seen the anime (although you can see a few snippets at the above link) but we are big fans of the original manga, or at least now-kaputski’s Comics One’s English-language version, known as Crayon Shinchan. Created by Yoshito Usui, Shin Chan is a 5-year-old boy who likes running around with his pants off, smelling his farts, and creating all sorts of tremendous embarrassment for his parents and everyone else around. Mom is a stay-at-home and dad is a salariman, and Shin Chan delights in making brutal fun of his mothers wrinkles and small boobs, as well as his dad’s interest in looking at other women. Shin Chan is often called the “Bart Simpson of Japan,” and its easy to see how his upending of conventional mores would appeal in a society where face is everything.

Shin Chan manga has also been a huge hit throughout Asia, and even Spain, where Shin Chan comics sold in six figures.

Now the anime is coming to the US, and we have no idea if it will be as funny as the comic (our crappy old computer can’t watch those clips), however, here’s a point much in its favor: Evan Dorkin and Sarah Dyer did some of the scripting. Dorkin goes into this a bit at his blog:

In Japan, the character has a very specific, very funny voice/manner of speech, one that we’re used to as we’ve seen a number of episodes (many provided to us by several readers of yore, thank you very much, readers of yore). The dubbed voice is jarring, because it isn’t “Shin”. I don’t know if that will matter, ultimately. If you don’t know the series, it won’t pose a disconnect. Is the show funny? I dunno. I dunno about anything we work on, and in this case we weren’t responsible for the plots or the overall execution, we reconfigured dialogue to be “funny” and/or logical based on script needs, localizing, timing, what we were given, what was called for. Anime purists will likely hate the dubbed version, but then again, anime purists probably shouldn’t watch dubbed anime. It’s never going to make them happy, especially if there are extensive rewrites or changes made. You might as well waltz into an Albanian sushi joint and bitch about the food not being authentic. So I suggest you wait for the subtitled DVD’s, anime purists and otaku, and send the hate mail to the Tooth Fairy, because we’re not reading it.

Setting aside Dorkin’s usual self deprecation, this is definitely a show to check out. And maybe Dr. Master should put out some new Crayon Shinchan manga, hint hint hint!

Our requisite Google patrol often turns up many reports on comics and literacy…it’s not really worth linking to them all, but once in a while it’s worth looking at the familiar pattern.

To start with, the Christian Science Monitor looks at those darn comics-loving tweeners:

In fact, over the past five years, “tweens” - kids between ages 8 and 12 - have become a major market for the full-length comic books, previously sold mainly to teenagers and adults.

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