On the official Comic Foundry blog this morning, publisher and founder Tim Leong announced that the fifth issue of the comics magazine will be the last one.

When we launched Comic Foundry Magazine it was a breath of fresh air to the industry and introduced a variety of coverage in types of stories never seen before in the comics press. We found praise and a fanbase that had a deep passion for the content we created. Together, my team helped changed the game. Comic Foundry means the world to me, which is why it saddens me to an unexplainable extent to say that our next issue will be our last. I’m sorry to admit that I’ve reached the unfortunate point where my career no longer allows enough time to do the magazine. “If it’s worth doing, it’s worth doing well,” my high school journalism teacher used to say. In this case, I’d rather cease publication than put out issues we don’t have time to devote to fully — less than 100 percent is not an option.

Leong also has a full-time job as an art director at Complex Magazine, and we always wondered how on earth he had time to put out a glossy, ad-supported men’s magazine AND a glossy, feature-jammed magazine about comics. Apparently, he no longer has the time, which is a shame.

While Comic Foundry hadn’t achieved complete magazine satori, it was fresh, funny and informative. Its absence means that the print side of the comics magazine equation is left to Wizard, TCJ, CBG, Comic Book Artist, and the occasional TwoMorrows periodical. (We know there are some other print attempts out there, but none of them have made enough of an impression for us to remember it.) Certainly none of these magazines is what we’d call a “journalistic” enterprise. (And yes, we still think The Comics Journal is the best magazine about comics out there, but it gave up the news section long ago.) Does anyone really want comics journalism? Evidently not.

We’re sad to see Tim and his right hand woman, Laura Hudson, leaving Comic Foundry behind, but we’re certain they aren’t leaving us behind entirely. It was fun while it lasted. Now, on to the next thing.

Oh boy, more to read! This newsletter launches later this month, part of the Book Report Network of newsletters and websites.

The Book Report Network is pleased to announce the upcoming launch of its newest website, GraphicNovelReporter.com.

GraphicNovelReporter.com will give readers of graphic novels what they’ve been waiting for — a fresh, in-depth look at these books and their creators. It’s a website designed for those who love the many genres within the format — and those who are curious as to what the excitement of these titles is all about.

Scheduled to launch later this month, GraphicNovelReporter.com will capitalize on the exploding format of graphic novels, including manga and the serious literary consideration this format is receiving at this time. The website will include reviews and interviews as well as news, opinions, blogs, bestseller and “Best Of” lists, and Books Into Movies and Books Into Movies on DVD features, all written with the voice and tone that have become the signature of The Book Report Network and its flagship website, Bookreporter.com.

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[NOTE: An edited version of this ran recently in PWCW, but writer Wil Moss offered to let us run the full transcript.]

BY WIL MOSS
There are lots of well-intentioned, entertaining comics web sites out there, so it’s doubtful many people would have pegged Comicfoundry.com as the online magazine that would break the mold for the comics consumer magazine. But when Comic Foundry made the jump from online to print publication last year, it did just that. The new quarterly publication offers easy access to comics for a new generation of comic readers with great writing, a hip emphasis on lifestyle—from tips on “comic book fashion” to a list of “cute creator couples”—and an editorial embrace of comics of all kinds; from indie and superhero comics to manga and everything in between. They’ve even got an issue on politics coming up.

After initially being turned down for distribution by Diamond Distribution, the dominant distributor in the comics shop market, the savvy editors of the Comic Foundry brought the rejection to the attention of the internet comics community and their support convinced Diamond to relent. Comic Foundry went to full color with its second issue and has seen orders increase with every issue. Next step: breaking into the bookstore and newsstand market. PW Comics Week spoke with Comic Foundry editor-in-chief Tim Leong (he’s also design director at Complex magazine) and CF senior editor Laura Hudson (who also contributes to PW Comics Week) about how to publish a smart, funny and beautifully designed magazine about comics that anyone would like to read.

PW Comics Week: How would you explain the success you’ve had so far?

Tim Leong: I think it really speaks to us filling a niche in the marketplace, because the current magazines that are out there—Wizard, The Comics Journal—I think they service their readers very well with what they do and what they aim to do, but in doing that I feel they’ve left a very wide gap in the marketplace. I think a lot of readers were left out in the cold. I think we’ve helped fill that gap, and I think the readers are really appreciative of that.

Laura Hudson: I also think that one of the reasons that Tim initially came up with Comic Foundry, and one of the reasons why I joined him with such enthusiasm, is that the kind of magazine we wanted to read didn’t exist—so we made it. I feel like there are more different types of people getting into comics now more than ever, and as I’ve heard Tim say a lot of times, he doesn’t just read superhero comics or just indie or just manga, he reads all sorts of stuff and so do I. I think there’s a new reader like that who’s way more open to different kinds of stuff. That’s where we’re coming from, and that resonates with what people are looking for.

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