The Los Angeles County Museum of Art, one of the most august art institutions in the nation, has put out a call for comics:

This fall LACMA will open Heroes and Villains: The Battle for Good in India’s Comics, an exhibition that will draw connections between ancient Indian epics and contemporary India’s booming comic book industry.

In conjunction with this show, we want to see your original storyline and characters for a superhero comic set in Los Angeles. Send your submissions, including a one-page synopsis of your storyline, character designs and/or storyboards to unframed@lacma.org by September 15, and we’ll post the best here on Unframed on October 19, the first week the show is open.

Send us your submissions in the following formats:

1. Word file or PDF for synopsis of storyline. No more than one page (about 250 words).

2. JPEG images for main character designs and individual storyboards, dimensions up to 800 x 1000 pixels. Individual JPEG files should be no larger than 1mb. Between 3 and 5 images total.

If you’re reading the words “Indian superhero comics” and thinking “Virgin you may be right — the posting at the official LACMA blog has some art from Liquid Comics, the successor to Virgin.

It sounds like a fun contest, if vaguely framed, but, as always, MAKE SURE YOUR COPYRIGHT INFORMATION IS CLEARLY SPELLED OUT! Just sayin’.

A special report by Zena Metal

Lost, Lost, Lost, Lost, mother’effen Lost! Arguably one of the greatest—and most heavily expounded upon—TV shows of the last millennium held its annual panel at San Diego Comic-Con, and being that the forthcoming season will also be the series’ last, both stars and creators upped the ante with lots of free giveaways and a ton of surprises.

- Actors Josh Holloway, Jorge Garcia, Michael Emerson, Nestor Carbonell, Dominic Monaghan, plus creators Damon Lindelof & Carlton Cuse all graced the dais while ducking questions about Season 6.

- Comedian Paul Scheer presented the Lost creators with a painting of the pair with a polar bear. Wanna see? There’s a Web site, of course.

- You can also enroll at Lost University.

- Folks were also buzzing about the V remake, starring Lost’s Elizabeth Mitchell.

Non-Lost Highlights:

- Some fresh dirt from the True Blood panel.

- My Chemical Romance frontman and UMBRELLA ACADEMY creator, Gerard Way, was out and about. Here’s some news he announced at the Dark Horse panel.

- The IRON MAN 2 panel was a star-studded affair, featuring leads Robert Downey Jr., Don Cheadle, Sam Rockwell, and Scarlett Johansson. For more details on the film footage shown, check out this post.

- Proving that he truly is the nicest guy in comics, Jim Lee gave out cookies at the WildStorm panel.

4, 8, 15, 16, 23, 34

That is all for me, thank you and goodnight.

Photo courtesy of Jimmy Aquino

A special report by Zena Metal

Day Two of San Diego Comic-Con 2009 was a star-studded affair as dozens of Hollywood elites came down to pander their wares. A-list actors like Denzel Washington, Gary Oldman, Cameron Diaz, Megan Fox, Josh Brolin, and Robert Downey Jr. were among the bigger names making appearances whilst promoting a variety of films, including SHERLOCK HOLMES, DISTRICT 9, THE BOX, JONAH HEX and THE BOOK OF ELI.

- Folks seemed to have embraced the trailer for the NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET reboot, which features WATCHMEN’s Jackie Earle Haley as Freddy Krueger.

- Other talent making the rounds on Twitpic include Felicia Day, Zoe Bell, Eliza Dushku, Mary Lynn Rajskub, Dominic Monaghan, Emily Deschanel, Kiefer Sutherland, and the ubiquitous Bruce Campbell. And sometimes, it just pays to be Eric Wareheim.

- The oddly titled HOT TUB TIME MACHINE, starring John Cusack, also debuted this red band trailer at SDCC.

- Daft Punk are scoring the forthcoming TRON movie and are considering touring to support the soundtrack.

- My girl crush on Diablo Cody continues. For video footage of her latest pixyish ‘do, check out this press clip for JENNIFER’S BODY.

- Peter Jackson got punked at the Entertainment Weekly panel. According to EW Pop Watch’s Marc Bernardin: “EW’s panel just got punked by a crazy thirsty guy who came on stage and drank Peter Jackson’s water. Security prevailed.” Anybody have video?

- Pop Culture Geeks have uploaded a great collection of photos from the Con, giving special attention to action figures. Meanwhile, Parka Blogs focuses in on cosplayers.

- The big talk of last night’s party scene was the free Gwar concert sponsored by Vice. According to Zuda Comics’ Andy Belanger, it was “arguably the greatest metal show of all time… Walked out covered head to toe in fake blood, gross!”

Wonder how it’ll compare to tomorrow night’s Robot Chicken Skate Party. Tonight’s entertainment: Daughtry. Really.

- One of the big revelations at today’s Dollhouse panel was that revered comic artist John Cassaday will be directing an episode of the show’s second season. For more Dollhouse dirt, check out this recap. Spoiler alerts abound for this one.

- Everyone was abuzz about The Mighty Boosh panel. Have you seen this exclusive T-shirt?

- On the media gearhead tip, I’m happy that the hashtag [#sdcc] has finally taken off… far more elegant than the “Comic-Con” that’s been trending.

OK, time to drown my sorrows in a tall boy of Sapporo.

*Photo courtesy of Jimmy Palmiotti (who else?)

A special report by Zena Metal

Day One of San Diego Comic-Con 2009 has come and gone, and though my heart feels a little bit heavier for not being a part of it, I’ve resigned myself to playing armchair critic in addition to my role as The Beat’s second-string reporter this weekend.

Just think of me as a pop-culture Watcher: I observe and compile knowledge, but I can’t actually cause any of the fun trouble I’ve been known to evoke in past years. Below are some dispatches from the Con that made me feel a little warm inside.

- Not surprisingly, Comic-Con is trending highly on Twitter. If you want to personalize your own well-rounded SDCC-related feed, I suggest you follow these fine folks: Comic News Insider’s Jimmy Aquino, the ever-witty Ben McCool, mistress of Adult Swim Liz Mackie, Geeks of Doom, and Entertainment Weekly’s well-scrubbed Michael Ausiello.

- Here are some giant display movie posters for the JONAH HEX film, featuring Josh Brolin and Megan Fox.

- Star Trek cologne. Really? I never even knew the stuff existed, but apparently Khan got his own exclusive scent this week. It’s called (what else?) “Khaaann!”

-  An exclusive 25-minute trailer of James Cameron’s AVATAR seems to have made quite a good impression; there’s been a lot of chatter from attendees thrilled to see him collaborating with Sigourney Weaver again.

- Johnny Depp crashed Tim Burton’s ALICE IN WONDERLAND panel. I wonder if anyone asked him about his next role as principle in the Carol Channing biopic. Here’s a wrap-up with photos.

- Adult Swim creators recount their most awkward Comic-Con moments.

- John Lithgow will guest star in season four of Dexter, portraying the Trinity Killer, widely heralded as “the most dangerous serial killer ever.” Lithgow is perfect for the part; seriously, the dude has creeped me out ever since that one Twilight Zone episode with the doll. Eek! For more on the Dexter panel, check out EW’s coverage.

- Big ups to Twilight’s Kristen Stewart for rocking what looks like a Minor Threat T-shirt. I must say, even at twice her age, the real Joan Jett is still foxier.

-  Nathan Fillion is threatening to “whip Comic-Con into a frenzy” if he gets 100,000 followers on Twitter by Saturday. We get the feeling he’ll try either way.

- Someone can easily win my love by picking up this Voltron exclusive for me. Truly, this sexy black Designer vinyl is one of the quickest ways to my heart. Incidentally, this is the primary-colored metal god’s 25th anniversary.

- Seems that overcrowding is already an issue, as this quote of the day exemplifies: “Comic-Con is so packed, one bonehead thought it wise to yell ‘I have diarrhea! I have diarrhea!’ to try and part the crowd. It didn’t work.” - EW Pop Watch via Twitter

And it was just Day One…

P.S.: Photo courtesy of Parka Blogs.

Arthur Suydam, David Hines and Gene and Nick Simmons are just a few of the folks signing at the Radical Comics booth.

In its grand return to San Diego Comic-Con International, Radical Publishing is holding nothing back with its largest booth space ever. The new 30×30 island space, with it’s large overhanging sign and the beautiful Radical Girls on hand at booth #3735, will feature many of the top names in the comic book and entertainment industry including Gene and Nick Simmons, Jim Steranko, Arthur Suydam, Darren Bousman, Steve Niles, David Hine and Rick Remender. Fans who visit the brand new Radical booth will have the chance to discover Radical’s diverse and varied library of titles, including the launch of Radical’s first title to implement the Bigger Books! Bigger Value! format, Incarnate #1, created, written and illustrated by Nick Simmons. Also debuting at this year’s Comic-Con is a first look at the special bronze Cholly & Flytrap figurine, sculpted by its creator Arthur Suydam (Marvel Zombies).

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You will not go wrong stopping by and purchasing some of these debuts.

Anyone know of anything happening next week? Oh, right. There is a “comic book” convention!

Yes, Fantagraphics will be returning to Comicon, as we do every year, much like the swallows to San Juan Capistrano. We will have a slew of new books, signings all weekend long, and a bunch of freebies for everyone who buys something from us.

First up, the signings. We are hosting signings all weekend long, and although these times are mostly finalized, we will likely have even more lined up between now and the start of the show, so don’t be surprised when you see even more happening than what’s listed here. Here’s our authors with scheduled times, in alphabetical order:

JORDAN CRANE:
Th. 4-6PM • Fr. 4-6PM • Sat. 2-4PM • Sun. 10AM-12PM

TIM HENSLEY:
Fr. 12-2PM

GILBERT HERNANDEZ (w/ NATALIA HERNANDEZ!):
Th. 1-3PM • Fr. 1-3PM & 5-7PM • Sat 3-5PM

JAIME HERNANDEZ:
Th. 4-6PM • Fr. 1-3PM & 5-7PM • Sat. 3-5PM • Sun. 12-2PM

MARIO HERNANDEZ:
Th. 1-3PM • Fr. 1-3PM & 5-7PM • Sat 3-5PM • Sun. 12-2PM

PAUL HORNSCHEMEIER:
Th. 3-5PM • Fr. 11AM-1PM • Sat. 11AM-1PM • Sun. 12-2PM

JOHN PHAM:
Th. 2-4PM

TRINA ROBBINS:
Th. 2:30-4PM • Fr. 3-4PM • Sun. 12-2PM

JOHNNY RYAN:
Th. 4-6PM • Fri. 2-4PM • Sat. 2-4PM • Sun. 10AM-12PM

MONTE SCHULZ:
Fr. 11AM-1PM • Sat. 11AM-1PM • Sun. 12-1PM

TED STEARN:
Sat. 1-3PM • Sun. 10AM-12PM

LEWIS TRONDHEIM:
Sat. 4-5:30PM

ESTHER PEARL WATSON:
Th. 4-6PM • Fr. 4-6PM • Sat. 12-2PM • Sun. 10AM-12PM

CRAIG YOE:
Th. 12-1PM • Fr. 11AM-12PM • Sat. 4-5PM • Sun. 2-3PM

———

Next up: NEW BOOKS! We have a slew of new books debuting at the show; you heard it here first. To wit:

LOVE & ROCKETS NEW STORIES #2 by Gilbert, Jaime & Mario Hernandez. It wouldn’t be a Comicon without a new LOVE & ROCKETS from the brothers Hernandez, and this year is no exception, as we present the second issue of the new, annual L&R that debuted at last year’s show.

LOCAS II by Jaime Hernandez. The second hardcover opus of Maggie, Hopey & Ray’s adventures. Over 400 pages of Hernandez’s sprawling saga under one cover for the first time. The book features material originally published in Love & Rockets Vol. II issues 1-20.

WEST COAST BLUES by Jacques Tardi and Jean-Patrick Manchette. Our first Tardi book finally hits, and it’s a sizzling crime thriller that’s already earning raves from modern crime masters like Ed Brubaker and Howard Chaykin.

PRISON PIT by Johnny Ryan. You think you know Johnny Ryan? You don’t know this Johnny Ryan. Ryan’s first original graphic novel is a hyperviolent fantasy tour de force inspired by Kentaro Miura’s BERSERK Manga, but filtered through Ryan’s singularly twisted sense of humor.

SQUIRREL MACHINE by Hans Rickheit. An amazing, original graphic novel debut with a strong steampunk-ish bent. The gist? Two brothers in 19th Century New England invent a number of fantastic musical instruments from strange technologies… and scavenged animal carcasses. Driven to conceal their work for fear of recrimination, they make a startling discovery in… the Squirrel Machine.

GIRAFFES IN MY HAIR by Carol Swain and Bruce Paley. Acclaimed British cartoonist Carol Swain illustrates writer Bruce Paley’s graphic novel memoir of the late-1960s, from dropping acid at Disneyland to crashing the 1968 Democratic Convention with armed Black Panthers, hanging out at Max’s Kansas City, shooting heroin with Johnny Thunders and much more — a journey that mirrored the changing times as the optimism of the 1960s gave way to the nihilism of the punk years.

ROCK CANDY by Femke Hiemstra. A startlingly gorgeous art collection from a soon to be star on the pop surrealistic circuit, handsomely designed by Jacob Covey. Reminiscent of Mark Ryden, but wholly her own talent, just pick this one up and flip through it, but come prepared to be seduced.

THE RED MONKEY DOUBLE HAPPINESS BOOKby Joe Daly. The apotheosis of stoner comedy. Action, adventure, mystery, and copious bags of weed. I think this book is something of a masterpiece, which may say more about me than Joe Daly.

ALL AND SUNDRY by Paul Hornschemeier. This stunningly handsome collection corrals Paul’s work from the last five years that has never been collected, or printed at all. Comics, illustrations, sketchbooks, and more, it’s all presented with exquisite thought and detail in a way that adds up to the proverbial sum greater than its parts.

THIS SIDE OF JORDAN by Monte Schulz. Schulz (son of Charles M.) will be making his first-ever Comicon appearance to support the release of his new novel, a tapestry of American life in the summer before the economic crash of 1929, and a quintessential novel of the rural Midwest offered unexpectedly as a crime thriller. Come by and pick up the book and ask him questions about his life and family.

ABSTRACT COMICS edited by Andrei Molotiu. You’ve heard the buzz on this one already. A showcase spanning cartoonists new and old who have payed with the possibilities of comics featuring little to no representational imagery, and which tell no stories beyond those that result from the transformation and interactions of shapes across the page. Which doesn’t do the handsomeness of this volume justice, lusciously packaged as it is by the aforementioned Mr. Covey. Featuring Crumb, Moscoso, Panter, Craghead, Kochalka, Overby and many more.

THE COMICS JOURNAL No. 299 edited by Gary Groth, Michael Dean & Kristy Valenti. This issue of TCJ features one of the most amazing stories I’ve read about comics, and it’s one that I’d inexplicably never heard before. Bob Levin presents the story of Someday Funnies, or, “How Michael Choquette (Almost) Assembled the Most Stupendous Comic Book in the World.” 30 years ago, Someday Funnies almost became a book that would have made Kramer’s Ergot #7 look like a Jack Chick tract, with contributions from names including Kurtzman, Kirby, Fellini, Burroughs, Steadman, Wenner, Beck, Dali, Eisner, Wolfe, Zappa and literally hundreds more. I’m not even remotely exaggerating the awesomeness of this piece.

This list doesn’t even include a slew of other super recent releases like PRINCE VALIANT Vol. 1, YOU SHALL DIE BY YOUR OWN EVIL CREATION, TALES DESIGNED TO THRIZZLE Vol. 1, LOW MOON, FROM WONDERLAND WITH LOVE, etc.

——

And last but not least: FREE STUFF!!!

Everyone who purchases something from Fantagraphics at the con is going to get a bag stuffed with freebies (while supplies last, anyway, but they should last most of the weekend). Every bag includes several free items, including:

• A back issue of THE COMICS JOURNAL

• An original back issue of the legendary LOVE & ROCKETS Vol. I

• One of our FREE COMIC BOOK DAY Samplers (Love & Rockets, I.G.N.A.T.Z., Funny Book, etc.)

• Our COMIC STRIP MASTERPIECES tabloid

• Plus postcards, stickers, and other surprises!

We look forward to seeing everyone next week, stop on by and say hi to the whole Fantagraphics crew (Gary, Kim, Eric, Mike, Zuniga, Jason, Janice, Kristy and Ajax the Destroyer).

John Ostrander is a writer who has done an incredible amount of work in this business, and entertained and enlightened readers for more than two decades. Grimjack, Munden’s Bar, Star Wars, The Kents…you name it, he’s done it. And not just space filling make work…John CARES about the reader…and it shows on every page.

He’s also had glaucoma for over two decades, and needs an operation to save his eyesight. An expensive operation.

Please note, John has insurance. But, in the parlance of the time, he’s “underinsured.” His insurance isn’t going to pay for the treatments he needs.

So his friends are getting together. A benefit auction will be held at the Chicago Comic-Con (Formerly Wizard World Chicago) to benefit John. There’s more info on his treatment and the benefit at the above link. And more in a press release from Mike Gold, reprinted below.

John is a friend and a friend of comics. In these times, we all sort of have to look out for each other. Give a few dollars. It’s the cost of a coffee for a man’s sight.

An auction will be held at the Chicago Comic-Con (nee Wizard World Chicago) the evening of Saturday, August 8, 2009 to raise funds for comics veteran John Ostrander, who is undergoing a series of operations and medical treatments to fight off blindness.

Recently, John underwent a series of operations that might have saved his remaining eyesight. Progress has been made but he faces considerably more treatment in the months ahead.
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From the Marvel catalog — cover image tragically not available:

MARVEL BROMANCE #1

If This Be Bromance–! Marvel’s greatest buddies take the spotlight in this one-of-a-kind collection, and it’s male bonding like you’ve never seen — as Cable and Deadpool swap stories, Wonder Man and the Beast share a plane ride, Spidey and the Human Torch battle back-to-back, Wolverine makes a bet with Nightcrawler, Black Panther and Everett Ross lay their feelings on the line…and the Warriors Three set sail for fun! Plus: Captain America and the Falcon, Iron Man and Jim Rhodes, and more! Be here as Marvel says, “I love you, man!” Collecting MARVEL TEAM-UP #121, CAPTAIN AMERICA #126, AVENGERS TWO: WONDER MAN & THE BEAST #1, POWER MAN AND IRON FIST #79, CLASSIC X-MEN #4, MARVEL SPOTLIGHT #30, CABLE & DEADPOOL #19, IRON MAN #216, BLACK PANTHER #25, TALES OF SUSPENSE #78 and MARVEL FANFARE #15. Rated A …$24.99 ISBN: 978-0-7851-4186-0

Thanks to Kate F. for the link!

The OMEGA/POP GUN WAR artist posts a commission. Merv Pumpkinhead is, of course, from SANDMAN, but he’s also a nod to Jack Pumpkinhead, the character drawn by John R. Neill for the Oz books.

In more upbeat Dark Horse news, a preview of this weekend’s Emerald City Con includes news of an intriguing nonfiction graphic novel: an account of the horrific Green River Killer by the son of the detective who arrested him.

Gary L. Ridgway was convicted in 2003 of murdering 48 women over a 20 year period — he’s suspected of having killed even more. The graphic book will be written by Jeff Jensen (EW’s resident Lost expert, with art by Ramón K. Pérez. Jensen’s father, Green River Task Force Detective Tom Jensen, arrested the killer and got the confession, but the story is a strange one:

The graphic novel promises a behind-the-scenes look at the case, with aspects that have been little explored, from the perspective of the now-retired investigator who’s avoided the limelight.

Illustrated by Ramon K. Perez, the story’s framing device is five days in June 2003 when Ridgway was secretly removed from jail to be interrogated in a nondescript building at Boeing Field. The horrific, five-day emotional roller coaster culminated with Tom Jensen extracting the information that led to Ridgway’s conviction.

Jeff Jensen listened to tapes of the interviews as part of his research. “You can hear it in my dad’s voice. He’s losing it. There is emotion, and my dad is a very reserved man, and it’s creeping into his voice and he’s struggling very hard to not break down.”

The book will be out in 2010.

Oh no, not more charts? Yes! This time it’s something we haven’t seen much talked about before: Diamond’s BACKlist charts. As all publishing watchers know, the backlist is where you live and die; it’s the retirement fund; it’s the guarantee. Diamond released their January Star System best sellers, and it’s quite interesting to look at, especially with all the changes coming to the distribution system. Let’s have a looksee, shall we?

JANUARY STAR SYSTEM BACKLIST TOP SELLERS

TOP 10 COMICS

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With the New York Comic-Con seemingly successfully behind them, Reed Exhibitions has announced major changes to the BEA, the annual book trade fair. The show will stay in New York until 2012, and will move to a mid-week configuration.

While there have been no changes to the 2009 show, starting in 2010 BEA will run from Tuesday through Thursday, rather than its current configuration, which begins with an education day on Thursday followed by exhibition hours running from Friday through Sunday. Under the 2010 schedule, education panels will be held on Tuesday with the exhibit floor opening at 4 p.m. and running through 6 p.m. The exhibit floor will be opened 9-6 on Wednesday and 9-5 on Thursday

In 2010, the show will run from May 25-27 and will be held May 24-26 in 2011. In 2012, BEA will be held after Memorial Day on May 30- June 1.

In other news, HarperCollins is losing the Collins with a round of layoffs expected.

In a dramatic turnaround, HarperCollins announced this morning that it is closing its Collins division and integrating its operations within different businesses in the General Books Group. As a result, Steve Ross, president and publisher of Collins, and Lisa Gallagher, senior v-p, and publisher of William Morrow, are leaving the company. Ross was brought over by Jane Friedman two years ago from Crown to rebuild the Collins brand. In addition to closing Collins, CEO Brian Murray issued a memo today saying that despite efforts to avoid layoffs, a reduction in the workforce will be necessary. “Given the continued uncertainty in the market and soft revenues for the company, we need to take further action to align our cost basis with expected revenues,” Murray wrote. “I have asked each division to evaluate their business and begin the process to meet this goal. Unfortunately, in some HarperCollins divisions, implementing these plans will result in a reduction in workforce.”

What is it with the comic book reviewers who include this in their reviews?

This review was based on a complimentary copy provided by the publisher.

I guess it’s supposed to be some kind of ethical high ground thing, but, ironically, it makes the reviewer look like a complete amateur.

Because the way the world works is that publicists are SUPPOSED to send out free product so it can get reviewed.

Does Roger Ebert go to the movie theater every Friday and stand in line and go back to the Sun-Times to say “Hey I caught some good flicks this weekend. Can I write them up?”

Does Michiko Kakutani spend her time down at Borders browsing the stacks and then call up the NYT Book Review editor to say “Hey, I really want to review this new T.C. Boyle book, whaddaya say?”

I’m sure there are times when any top reviewer covers something they paid for with their own dime, but the thing that makes them top reviewers is that IT DOESN’T MATTER. They'’ve reached that not-so-rarified state that they can praise or slag a work independent of how it was received.

Every day at Publishers Weekly, we get dozens of “complimentary copies” of books and I assign them to various reviewers based on how important the book is and whether the reviewer will give it a fair reading. It doesn’t matter who paid or didn’t pay for the book itself.

I would be more interested in knowing if a book was reviewed from a .pdf or a B&W galley and so on — those things can affect the accuracy of a review.

Who paid shouldn’t.

NOW, if the author or publicist is a personal pal of the reviewer and sent them a copy of whatever with the note “I just KNOW you’ll love this! Alan Moore Updike is coming out to promote his new YouTube series and he’d love to talk to you about it”, that’s a different matter.

In that case, it’s more upfront to say “My good pal Swifty Kingsley sent along a DVD of this new Alan Moore Updike YouTube DVD, and it’s the dog’s bollocks.”

But that’s hardly reviewing, either. The NY Times and other reputable media don’t allow people to review a book if they even KNOW the author. That is how to maintain distance. In the tiny circle jerk world of comics, maintaining distance is almost impossible. That’s why I cut back on doing reviews — too many conflicts of interest.

But if I ever did go back to it, whether I got a book for free or whether I paid for it would be the least of my concerns.

I am very saddened to learn today of the death of actress/comics writer/friend Maddie Blaustein at age 48. It’s being reported that she died in her sleep after a brief illness.

Blaustein started out in the comics industry at Marvel, where he was known as Adam, but gradually went on a path that few could imagine — first as a very successful, talented and well-known voice actress, most notably as the voice of Meowth on the US version of Pokemon. Second, as a transgendered individual. She also wrote several issues of Milestone comics, including a run on STATIC.

Aaron McQuade, who profiled Maddie for The Advocate, has more on his blog:

Maddie (born Adam Blaustein) might be the most recognizable transgender voice on the planet, from her roles as Meowth on Pokemon, and Solomon Moto on Yu-Gi-Oh, not to mention dozens of other anime and video games. She was also a writer for Milestone Comics, penning issues of Static and Hardware, as well as the limited series Deathwish.

Maddie once told me the story of how she was inspired to fully transition from male to female (and to come out to her co-workers as transgender) by an episode of Pokemon. In the episode “Go West, Young Meowth” her character travels to Hollywood to make it big. There, Meowth falls in love with another Meowth, who spurns his advances. He decides to learn how to speak and to stand upright in order to impress her - but she rejects him for being a “freak.” Meowth was a human trapped in a Pokemon’s body.

Maddie and I worked together at DC Comics for a few years, and she was a character as unusual as any she played, but a true friend with a heart of gold. Meowth was my favorite Pokemon (me being a cat lover and all) and I kept a talking Meowth on my computer at DC — both as a tribute to the character and Maddie but also as a tribute to the fact that this brave, compassionate and talented person could become the voice of a character known to millions and millions of children.

My path never crossed with Maddie’s as much as it should have, and for that I am sorry. I do know that she will very much be missed by everyone who called her friend.

This would, I guess, be the latest in an irregular series of posts called “Discovering amazing quotes while reading old magazines.” I was digging through some boxes of books looking for reference material and I found the July 1987 issue of The Comics Journal (#116, if you want to pick up a back issue, although they don’t have it in the Fantagraphics Store). It would have been a post-worthy find purely on the basis on the CEREBUS review by THE BEAT (”Anyway, the problem is that Dave is equal parts genius and asshole. And he knows it. It’s a trying combination.”) This is from a review of CEREBUS issue #93. NINETY-THREE!

Anyway, this is from an interview about WATCHMEN, conducted by “British comics writer” Neil Gaiman, at the 1986 UK Comic Art Convention.

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Sorry, kids, the cable went out again. Last time we complained we got a free month of HBO. The moral is to keep complaining.

…..aaaaaand just like that, it comes back up.

Blog@Newsarama has a sad story about Carla Hoffman, part-time blogger and employee at Metro Entertainment in Santa Barbara, and her husband, Lance. The two suffered second- and third-degree burns over much of their bodies as they fled a freak flash fire. As revealed in an update, their home and belongings have also been completely destroyed. Lea Hernandez has some advice here, Ian Brill has some personal reflections on the Hoffmans, and our thoughts are certainly with them.

By Steve Bunche, entertainment ronin

Keeping the vibe of old school fandom alive, Michael Carbonaro’s always-welcome Big Apple Convention once more sets up shop this weekend at Manhattan’s Penn Plaza Pavilion and celebrates the release of the twenty-second film in the James Bond series, QUANTUM OF SOLACE, with featured guest appearances by actresses Gloria Hendry (LIVE AND LET DIE), Lynn-Holly Johnson (FOR YOUR EYES ONLY), and George Lazenby, the man who took over when original Bond Sean Connery left the series, going down in film history as 007 in what many fans consider to be the best film of the bunch, 1969’s exceptional ON HER MAJESTY’S SECRET SERVICE. Also in attendance will be Kate Mulgrew (aka Star Trek: Voyager’s Captain Janeway), Peter “Chewbacca” Mayhew, and a host of others to meet and greet.

And let us not forget a roster of luminaries from the comics industry, including John Romita Sr., Jim Steranko, Bill Sienkiewicz, Carmine Infantino, Larry Hama, Herb Trimpe, Mark Texiera, Michael Golden, Neal Adams, Russ Heath, David Lloyd, Bryan Talbot and a galaxy of the four-color world’s best and brightest. And as if all that doesn’t set your fan-flag a-wavin’, there’s also a mind-boggling assortment of shopping to be had, provided by dealers of all manner of collectibles ranging from toys to original art to rare comics and who knows what else? It’s a cornucopia of keepin’-it-real convention excellence for a mere twenty bucks admission.

For more information and directions, consult the Big Apple Con website .

If you’re reading this with your morning coffee, it’s because our Internet has been off all night. Thanks, Time-Warner Cable!

Posted via iPhone

HEREVILLE, the webcomic by Russ Manning Award nominee Barry Deutsch, has been picked up by Abrams for the book treatment. It’s interesting to note that while the rush to sign cartoonists to book deals for original graphic novels has definitely subsided a bit, the publishing world is increasingly looking to webcomics. Trend alert.

Amulet Books has acquired the publication rights to Hereville, Barry Deutsch’s fanciful adventure comic, currently scheduled for publication in Spring 2010.

Charlie Kochman Executive Editor of Abrams Comic Arts and Judy Hansen of Hansen Literary Agency negotiated the deal. Film rights will handled by Nick Harris of Rabineau Wachter Sanford & Harris for Hansen Literary Agency.

Hereville, portions of which initially appeared as a web comic on Deutsch’s web site www.hereville.com, chronicles the adventures of Mirka, an 11-year old Orthodox Jewish girl, whose dreams of slaying fairy-tale monsters conflict with her highly structured life in an isolated, religious town.

The Washington Post has described Hereville as “what you get when you cross Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Isaac Bashevis Singer.”

Just in case we didn’t make it clear enough, you should check out Kevin Cannon’s BLOTCHMEN, his 24 Hour Comic.

§ Brian Hibbs’s new column extols the virtues of his POS system (MOBY), which he feels has enabled him to show an actual uptick in sales even during the current pre-recession. The whole column is worth reading, but the areas in which MOBY has helped the most are making special orders easier, and keeping less obvious backlist items in stock.

Speaking of backstock, Hibbs also takes Marvel to task for their incredibly erratic backstock system (perhaps a vestige of the Jemas no-reprints era?). Anyway, since we pick on other companies so much for their problems, it’s interesting to see Marvel’s Achilles heel:

The weirdest thing is that this is something that the sales department at Marvel knows — in fact, they’re often offering incentives (extra discount, variant covers, and so on) to get retailers to front-load their orders. So to not have copies of editorially strong material on hand when the demand is there drives me bonkers.

The sales charts show Marvel running ahead of DC by about 50% (48% to 32% in August 2008), and I largely believe they could widen that by half again if only their products were available for reorder.

But it isn’t just the periodical — their backlist is a shambles in this retailer’s mind. There’s just an astonishingly wide swath of critical Marvel backlist that isn’t available at any given time. Whether it’s something like the first hardcover of “Runaways” (arguably the largest early-21st century original superhero success) being out of print for months at a time (limiting sales on the later volumes), or the unavailability of a complete set of inexpensive reprints of Frank Miller’s “Daredevil” in something like the last five years (!), or something crazy like “Wolverine: Origin” being unavailable for most of this year… to me, it’s not unlike the grocery store not having any milk or eggs in stock.

§ We did not expect to see rapper Percy Carey, aka MF Grimm, writing a column on comic book business issues for Complex magazine. But he is. First up, sales figure guru John Mayo:

Percy Carey: What are your views on the current state of comic books?

John Mayo: On a creative level, this is one of the best times to be reading comics. There are great comics coming out from most publishers these days and if you can’t find a comic book to enjoy, then you aren’t looking hard enough as there is something out there for everybody. Part of what Bob and I are trying to do on the podcast is match people up with the right titles for them.

On a sales level, while the aggregate sales for the top 300 comics gives the illusion that comics are selling well, the unfortunate reality is that most individual titles are dropping in sales. Comics used to have “Event” titles that were kind of like sweeps week for television. The publishers would pull out all the stops and really wow the readers. As a result, these things would sell great. Now imagine if every week was sweeps week on television. That is the state comics are in now. It is “Event” after “Event” after “Event” and while they are entertaining, they stop being special when they happen all the time.

Monday, October 6
Washington, D.C., 5 PM - “Happy Accidents” Panel at George Washington University’s Gelman Library

Cartoonists Jesse Reklaw (THE NIGHT OF YOUR LIFE), Dash Shaw (BOTTOMLESS BELLY BUTTON), Trevor Alixopulos (THE HOT BREATH OF WAR), Ken Dahl (WELCOME TO THE DAHL HOUSE), and Sarah Edward-Corbett (SEE-SAW) will join a reading and panel discussion titled “Happy Accidents,” about contemporary themes and issues in graphic novels. The event is free and open to the public. Photo ID is required to enter the library.

Monday, October 6
New York, NY, 6:30 PM - Dojinshi with Dan Pink at the Japanese Society

Dan Pink, author of the business-by-manga guide THE ADVENTURES OF JOHNNY BUNKO (above), will discuss the world of dojinshi, and explain why the amateur manga artists who remix and repurpose popular titles into new creations are actually helping the Japanese manga industry. Tickets are $5 - $10 and are available online.

Thursday, October 9
New York, NY, 7 PM - late - Comic Foundry Release Party

Comic Foundry editors Tim Leong and Laura Hudson celebrate the release of the magazine’s fourth issue with a party at The Irish Rogue on 356 W 44th St. Free copies of the new issue to the first 50 guests to arrive.

Saturday, October 11
San Francisco, CA from 1 - 3 PM – Mike Gray at The Cartoon Art Museum

Award-winning cartoonist Mike Gray, creator of THOM CAT, (which will air on Nickelodeon in December 2008 as part of the Random Cartoons series) will appear at the Cartoon Art Museum as part of its ongoing Cartoonist-in-Residence program. Visitors will have the chance to see Mr. Gray at work, watch his cartoons, chat with him about cartooning, and get a free sketch. Free and open to the public.

Saturday, October 11
San Francisco, CA from 6:30 - 10 PM - Game Over: Art of the Gamer Generation opening reception at Giant Robot

Giant Robot presents a group show that pays homage to the massive influence and continuous evolution of videogames. The impact and inspiration of videogames will be represented through a wide assortment of styles and genres provided by top artists in the fields of illustration, painting, sewing, and indie comics.

Saturday, October 11
Chicago, IL from 7 - 8 PM - Release Signing for THE HOT BREATH OF WAR at Quimby’s Bookstore

To celebrate the release of Trevor Alixopulos’ 2008 Ignatz Award-nominated graphic novel, THE HOT BREATH OF WAR, by Sparkplug Comic Books, Alixopulos and fellow 2008 Ignatz Awards nominees Laura Park and Jeremy Onsmith will be signing comics at Quimby’s Bookstore.

Posted by Aaron Humphrey

The Beat’s unofficial Spanish correspondent, Pepo, alerts us to a post (in Spanish) on his blog about Frank Miller in Spain. Writer Borja Crespo caught up with Miller on his Spanish SPIRIT invasion. Pepo gave us a rough translation of Miller’s remarks, which we’ve excerpted:

“Obama or McCain?”

“In Europe I don’t want to talk about politics”, Miller answers.

“What do you think about The Dark Knight movie?”

“It should be called ‘The Joker’”

“Is it true the rumour about you wanting to direct a film about the Dark Knight with Stallone as Batman?”

“All it is said in internet is truth”, says Miller, laughing out loud.

He seems enthusiastic about the movies. Even overexcited, like a great child with a new toy in his hands: the entertainment cinema. The slender Mr. Miller is dressed on black, and doesn’t remove his hat. He stands up from his seat and salutes me affectionately, makes an effort to be nice. What the hell, he is nice! Or he plays his role very well. Looks like he excited by the movies, like he would living a second youth. Now he’s crazy about the camera and the focus.