IDW EIC Chris Ryall shared some covers: Angel vs. Frankenstein by John Byrne

and Frankenstein Mobster, Vol. 1 by Mark Wheatley and friends.

Part 1
Part 2
Offered without explanation. None needed.

Announcing:

ACT-I-VATE is proud to announce THE ACT-I-VATE PRIMER.

16 original stories by the premier webcomix collective, ACT-I-VATE, with a foreward by Warren Ellis, coming this October from IDW Publishing.

With its roster of renowned creators serializing webcomix for free since 2006, ACT-I-VATE, has reached a comicbook critical mass. Now this funnybook big bang has birthed The Act-i-vate Primer, the very first collection of stand alone, never-before-seen stories. This tome is a lot bigger than it seems. Each of these stories extend way beyond the boundaries of mere paper and cardboard out into ACT-I-VATE.com where you’ll already be initiated to the worlds greatest webcomix collective.

The Act-i-vate Primer boasts original art and stories by Roger Langridge, Mike Dawson, Nick Bertozzi, Tim Hamilton, Dean Haspiel, Simon Fraser, Molly Crabapple & John Leavitt, Joe infurnari Mike Cavallaro, Pedro Camargo, Jim Dougan & Hyeondo Park, Ulises Farinas, Michel Fiffe, Maurice Fontenot, Jennifer Hayden, and Leland Purvis.

“ACT-I-VATE makes comics better.”
–Warren Ellis [from the ACT-I-VATE PRIMER foreward].

Ted Adams’ all-star line-up gained a heavy hitter with the official announcement of Bob Schreck joining IDW as senior editor:

Newsarama: Bob, how did this position with IDW come about? Bob Schreck: Soon after I became available on the market again, that is “laid off,” IDW and several other interested parties reached out to me to see if I might be interested in joining their teams.

From the start IDW was the frontrunner and seemed a perfect fit for my next journey in the comic book publishing field. I am very happy and very exited to get started in October.

NRAMA: What drew you towards working with the company?

SCHRECK: So many good reasons. First, Ted Adams. I’ve known Ted for years – back when he was working with Dean Mullaney at Eclipse Comics, then soon after he and I worked together doing the marketing of Dark Horse Comics in the early 90s, and I’ve kept my eye on his publishing journey ever since. He’s a very sharp fellow with a keen eye for quality and has a solid understanding of business.

That said, the second reason is obvious… IDW is on fire! Who wouldn’t want to be a part of a company that is so on the move and so in tune to today’s comics’ readers and pop culture? They choose their projects carefully and haven’t lost their identity as a publisher, which is no easy task when trying to appeal to as broad an audience as possible. I feel like the sky’s the limit there creatively speaking and that I will be able to achieve some very interesting and exciting results.

IDW has released their signing schedule, below:

Wednesday
Darwyn Cooke signing, 5 – 7.30 pm
 
 
Thursday
Tony Lee (Doctor Who) signing, 11-12 noon
IDW 10th Anniversary panel, 11-12 noon, Room 10
Ben Templesmith and Chris Ryall (Groom Lake) signing, 12 noon – 1 pm
Robert Atkins signing (G.I. JOE) signing, 1 – 2 pm
Brea Grant (Heroes, Halloween 2) and Zane Grant signing, 2.30 – 3.30 pm
Darwyn Cooke (The Hunter) signing, 3.30 – 5.30 pm
 
 
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News that has been floating around for awhile, but the official announcement is great news, as IDW continues their commitment to comics past with a new imprint helmed by comics historian/design guru Craig Yoe:

Yoe is coming to IDW! On the heels of the media frenzy surrounding his highly-acclaimed new book, Secret Identity: The Fetish Art of Superman’s Co-Creator Joe Shuster, IDW is proud to announce Yoe! Books, a new imprint that will publish numerous books by the author, editor and designer Craig Yoe, beginning with The Art of Ditko, a large-format book and The Complete Milt Gross Life Story and Comic Books, both releasing this fall.  Ditko features little-seen stories and original artwork and an introduction by Stan Lee. Milt Gross sports a FOLD-INtroduction by Mad magazine’s Al Jaffee and scarce ephemera and comics. These first two offerings foretell the genre-spanning range of Yoe! Books.
 
“IDW is committed to expanding our book collections, and continuing to offer readers a wide variety of unique and historical material,” said Greg Goldstein, IDW’s chief operating officer. “We’re excited to be the home of Craig’s imprint, Yoe! Books, highlighting unknown geniuses and revelatory books on well-known names.”

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§ GUTSVILLE was one of the highest concept comics ever, a Hawthorne-esque melodrama of a society that lives inside some giant beast. Written by Si Spurrier with art by Frazer Irving, the first issue came out in May 2007, to good reviews, and two issues eked out over the next two years. But it seems to have run aground. Now Rich Johnston quizzes Spurrier on What Ever Happened to Gutsville and the answer isn’t the happy one we’d want, as Irving can’t fit the last three issues into his schedule:

Bleeding Cool: So what happens now? In a Marvelman style do you bring Alan Davis on board?

Spurrier: Heh. That would be nice… I dunno: it’s fucking tricky. I mean… You go riiiight back to the beginning and || the setup was gloriously efficient. Fraze had had a run of good work and was flush enough to be able to take || 6 months out to do something which paid fuck-all along the way. He loved the Gutsville pitch and that was that. || …and to start with it worked perfectly. He’s super-quick at top speed. The first ep took 20 days, and looks amazing. || So do I want to finish it with someone else? Not really, because I’ve had a taste of how amazing it *could* be || For whatever reason Fraze slowed down then stopped. I don’t want to farm it out to anyone else if there’s the slightest || chance he can get going again.

Can’t we all raid our penny jars and gather a fund to get Irving started on finishing this? Please?

§ Graphic NYC has what they bill as “Carmine Infantino’s final interview.” The artistic giant and former DC publisher finds himself much concerned with his legacy:

“Let me ask you a question,” Carmine Infantino says at the end of our interview. His voice normally reaches the lows of a mumble, except when he has a point.

Like now.

“Where do you think I fit in the whole picture of comics?” he asks with an air of sincerity, as if he were asking if the sky was really blue. “Be honest. A lot of people don’t like what I did as editor, but some did.”

Apple has chosen IDW’s Transformers comic as a top app for the day. A check of the iTunes store’s book ranking shows that Transformers-related material is doing quite well.

This is not a fad.

§ Jeff Lemire has launched a trailer for his Vertigo graphic novel THE NOBODY.

§ Titan Books has signed comics creator Roman Dirge in an exclusive new publishing deal. Dirge and his goth horror comedy LENORE were previously published at SLG, but the UK-based Titan is planning a big roll out for the back catalog later:

Shipping in August and available for order in the June edition of Previews are two new releases: a collectible edition of the first volume of Lenore, entitled “Noogies”; and the first in a series of brand new Lenore comics, specially commissioned by Titan. This all-new comic forms issue #1 of Volume Two in the Lenore series. Available in two covers, this is the first new Lenore comic in two years, and finally reveals her origin story!

Shipping in July, Diamond also boasts an exclusive limited edition of Lenore: Noogies, signed by Roman Dirge and featuring an exclusive alternative cover and four art cards.

Titan is also scheduling further collections of old and new Lenore, as well as lining up art books to feature a range of Dirge’s work, including unpublished illustrations, paintings and strips.

Titan has been jumping on the US pop culture bandwagon with an extensive licensing program, including all the WATCHMEN art books, and now they are getting into the US GN market as well, it seems.

§ IDW continues its iTunes comics program with the release of a new TERMINATOR: SA,VATION tie-in :

IDW is pleased to announce its partnership with Warner Bros. Digital Distribution for Terminator: Salvation comic applications, now available on iTunes, the first such project for the Warner Bros. division.

Published by IDW, written by Dara Naraghi (”Lifelike”) with art by Alan Robinson, this must-read multi-part graphic novel details a series of events that have transpired since Judgment Day and culminates with the story found in “Terminator Salvation” from Warner Bros. Pictures. The digital comics is now available on the Apple App Store for $0.99 for each of five episodes or $3.99 for the full collection.

ICv2 notes the irony in that Warner Bros. Digital Dist. is going with IDW and not DC for this tie-in.

§ Dynamite will publish THE COMPLETE ALICE IN WONDERLAND, to be written by John Reppion and Leah Moore, in a similar manner to their previous THE COMPLETE DRACULA AND SHERLOCK HOLMES.

§ Michael Eisner, still inexplicably obsessed with Bazooka Joe.

Technorati Tags: Titan

Bob Fingerman’s post-apocalyptic domestic comedy FROM THE ASHES has two new video support pieces up, nice trailer:

And if you’re a little bolder, Fingerman gets COMPLETELY NAKED in this video!

We do NOT advise all ‘tooners to take this promotional path. For special cases only. For those who don’t like new fangled multimedia, Tim O’Shea interviews Fingerman at Robot 6.

Three is a trend, right? First, there was yesterday’s story about Dark Horse going to iTunes.

Then, this morning, there was ICv2’s directory of comics published for mobile devices:

One of the fastest growing revenue-producing distribution channels for comics is mobile devices. Sold primarily as iPhone and iPod Touch apps, a wide range of comic issues are now available. This page is an attempt at a comprehensive list of comics available to mobile devices (not including free Webcomics readable on mobile browsers). Most of the titles listed below have multiple issues available; we’ve made no attempt to list individual issues.

And now we’ve joined the fray with this story for PWCW about IDW hiring Jeff Webber as director of e-publishing, and the success they’ve had selling a Star Trek tie-in comic on iTunes:

“We will sell as many iTunes apps [of Countdown] as we will of as the print version,” says Adams. “That’s a lot of apps.” The book—each issue is sold as an individual app—is regularly listed among the top 100 apps on iTunes and the first print issue of Star Trek: Countdown sold about 15,000 copies upon initial release, according to figures at the comics business site ICv2.com.

So…is this the day that “someday” for comics for mobile platforms turns into “today”?

We shall see.

Is there anyone who doesn’t like post-apocalyptic fiction?

Looking back at the past decade in comics, there haven’t been a surplus of successful ongoing comics series. In fact we can think of only a handful. Of that handful, perhaps the two most durable and entertaining are THE WALKING DEAD and Y: THE LAST MAN. (Yes, Y was a maxiseries, but it ran more or less monthly for a long time and its collections continue to sell at an astonishing pace.) What do both these books share? Why, survival in a post-apocalyptic landscape of gruesome clarity, of course. It’s an old yarn, but one that clearly resonates with readers, as they came back month after month for both series — and THE WALKING DEAD has become Image’s cash cow.

To the comics bookshelf of ruined worlds, we can now add another, highly unusual entrant, one which, we think, amplifies and examines the whole genre. In Bob Fingerman’s FROM THE ASHES, we see the personal story of two people — based on Fingerman himself and his wife, Michele — as they traverse the landscape of a ruined New York City. It’s savage, it’s narcissistic, it’s scary and it’s also very, very human. You may have seen a similar situation before, but trust me, you’ve never seen it like this. If Woody Allen and George Romero teamed up, you might get something like FROM THE ASHES…

FROM THE ASHES #1 (of six) debuts May 13th from IDW. You can read Fingerman’s blog on the series here, with background info and even more on the joys of destroying the world.
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The first of three adaptations of Richard Stark’s Parker novels by Darwyn Cooke is coming out this summer, and IDW has a preview of THE HUNTER. As you might expect, given that it’s Darwyn Cooke, there should be no surprise that it looks…delicious. Click the link for the whole thing.

Via pr, it seems that ComicMix, the website offering classic and new comics material in serialized webcomic form, has just landed a print deal, via IDW. Previously, a few print editions of ComicMix titles had been published as a one-off for the Baltimore Comic-Con.

IDW Publishing, a leading publisher of comic books and graphic novels, has begun an innovative partnership with ComicMix.com, a free website offering new and classic comics. Through this multi-year agreement, IDW will publish graphic novels, books and comics for ComicMix.com properties, enabling both companies to expand their offerings to customers and retailers, and combine their audience reach.

“ComicMix has a great line up of original and classic brands that are currently only available online, and despite the shift to the virtual world, there is still something unmistakable about reading a real-life book” said Greg Goldstein, chief operating officer of IDW. “IDW is known for producing some of the highest quality books in our industry, and we are looking forward to offering this to fans of ComicMix properties.”

Beginning in the fall of 2009, IDW will release trade paperbacks of ComicMix comics, as well as monthly comics, including many new stories that have previously been only available online at ComicMix.com. Initial titles will include GrimJack: The Manx Cat by John Ostrander and Timothy Truman, Jon Sable Freelance: Ashes of Eden by Mike Grell, and Hammer of the Gods by Mark Wheatley and Mike Avon Oeming, among others.

“This is a bit of a homecoming for many of us at ComicMix, because we have had a professional relationship with IDW Publishing over the past several years,” ComicMix Editor-In-Chief Mike Gold noted. “We’re honored to be among such first-rate comics and graphic novels. Quite frankly, I don’t think the ComicMix properties could find a better publishing home than IDW.”

The partnership with ComicMix allows IDW to distribute comics via mobile devices, increasing the company’s growing digital, downloadable publishing program, which already includes several major titles such as Star Trek: Countdown and Ghostbusters.

IDW has announced a new marketing manager, AnnaMaria White:

IDW Publishing, a leading publisher of comic books and graphic novels, today announced that AnnaMaria White, an experienced public relations and marketing professional, has joined the company as its in-house marketing manager.

“We are very excited to have AnnaMaria join our team,” said IDW COO Greg Goldstein. “IDW has grown very successfully in its ten-year history and that growth has accelerated in recent months. AnnaMaria is the ideal person to manage all of our communications needs as we continue to expand.”

As Marketing and PR Manager, Ms. White will manage the company’s public relations and marketing efforts. Ms. White has worked in public relations and marketing for years in a variety of industries, including entertainment, politics, healthcare and non-profit. Most recently, she was a Public Relations Manager at leading sports and entertainment cards and collectibles company, Upper Deck, focusing on entertainment brands, such as World of Warcraft, Yu-Gi-Oh!, and Marvel. Previously, Ms. White was the Communications Manager for Empire State Development, the economic development agency of the New York State government.

“I am thrilled to be joining IDW,” said Ms. White. “The strength of the company and diversity of its products offers an unique and exciting opportunity to help bring IDW to the next level.”

Ms. White holds a Bachelor of Arts from Columbia University.

A few important news bits that we hadn’t previously covered:

§ Announced at WonderCon, IDW will present the final complete edition of THE ROCKETEER for the first time ever. The late Dave Stevens had already helped plan the complete book, and even approved a new colorist for the project. The collection will include all the Rocketeer materials variously published by Pacific, Eclipse, Comico, and Dark Horse over the years, with new coloring by Laura Martin.

§ Also collected complete in one volume will be the Final Crisis saga. As Chris Butcher and many others noted, the story in FC #1-7 didn’t make much sense without the issues, SUPERMAN BEYOND and FINAL CRISIS: SUBMIT. The new collection will be bigger and retail for $30. Don MacPherson, like most, is happy the whole story will be in one book, but seems to be mad about bungling from the start:

It’s encouraging to see the publisher taking steps to correct such a clear problem. It’s possible that original solicitation for the book was done in error, that this was the plan all along. It’s also possible that Morrison himself stepped up and pointed out the problems that the omissions would create for the reader. Personally, I’d like to think DC listened to its customers — both at the retailer and reader levels — and took the appropriate steps.

It’s a shame, though, that they didn’t take a couple more steps up that flight of stairs to the Apology Floor.

Personally, we think this is all endemic to the Crisis Age of Comics, and that horse ran out of the stable laughing and crying a long time ago.

§ On the New Diamond Age tip, Ted May announces that INJURY #3, already completed, is yet another victim of the crushing 20,000 ton benchmark.

With no large scale distribution, it’s not feasible for Injury to continue in its current format. It was basically engineered for the direct market. I haven’t yet decided how we’ll proceed. At the moment we’re just back to writing new stuff. But please do keep an eye out for the third ish. It’s probably the best we’ve done so far. I’ll update this blog regarding future books. The fire of comics will continue to warm (and in some cases melt) peoples’ faces. That much I can say with certainty.

§ Variety reports that Ben Templesmith’s WELCOME TO HOXFORD has been picked up by Chris Columbus’s production company.

Ben Templesmith, who co-penned the vampire comic series “30 Days of Night,” which Sony made into a film in 2007, created “Hoxford,” about a psychiatrist who must team with a deeply disturbed patient in order to escape werewolves who run an institution for the criminally insane. Plans are for Columbus to produce the adaptation along with 1492 partners Michael Barnathan and Mark Radcliffe.

§ BTW, in case anyone was concerned, word going around is that Stephen Chow is still on board to play Kato in the GREEN HORNET movie, which would have depressed us before, but now that Michel Gondry is on board, we’re pleased as punch.

Billy, Jeffy, Dolly, and PJ are getting their own deluxe collection treatment, as IDW continues to expand their comic strip empire. At their WonderCon panel today, IDW announced a new series of Family Circus reprint collections. PR below:

IDW Publishing is pleased to announce The Family Circus Library by Bil Keane. The Family Circus, which was originally published in only 19 newspapers, is now seen in over 1500 newspapers worldwide, making it one of the most enduring and popular comic strips ever.

Drawing inspiration from his own family’s antics, Bil Keane brought the charming adventures of Billy, Dolly, Jeffy & PJ to life where they have been beloved by millions of readers ever since.

“Having truly enjoyed drawing my Family Circus cartoons,” Bil Keane said, “it is icing on the cake to see them now preserved in these very special volumes that will go on and on and on! Realizing that future generations may read the Keane family drawings that I penned so long ago is a happy bonus for this old cartoonist. I am eternally grateful.”

The initial book will collect the first two years of daily and Sunday strips, starting from the very beginning, February 29th, 1960. Volume One will be released in November, in celebration of the 50 year anniversary of The Family Circus.

“The Family Circus has been a favorite of mine since I was a kid,” said Scott Dunbier, the project’s editor, “and is even more so now that I have kids that age!” Each hard cover book will be designed by Eisner Award winner Dean Mullaney, and will be part of the critically acclaimed Library of American Comics.

IDW Publishing had become known as the home to some very high quality classic comic strips reprints — Terry and the Pirates, Dick Tracy, the upcoming Rip Kirby — but they are now turning to what might be called a “modern classic” with The Bloom County Library:

IDW Publishing is pleased to announce the forthcoming release of The Bloom County Library. Beginning in October 2009, each of the five volumes will collect nearly two years worth of daily and Sunday strips, in chronological order. This will be the very first time that many of these comic strips have been collected, and the first time in a beautifully designed, hardcover format. The books will be part of IDW’s Library of American Comics imprint, and designed by Eisner Award-winner Dean Mullaney.

“Fans have pestered me for years,” said Berkeley Breathed, “for this ultimate Bloom County collection in that polite, respectful badgering way that only fans can manage. Thank God I can now tell them something better than just ‘please remove your tent from my lawn.’ I can say, ‘It’s coming!”

Berkeley Breathed’s Bloom County is one of the most popular and critically acclaimed newspaper strips of modern times. Premiering on December 8th, 1980 — a month after the election of Ronald Reagan as President — the strip brought to the comics pages a unique amalgam of contemporary politics and fantasy, all told with hilarious humor and wit.

The beloved and quirky denizens of Bloom County include Opus, Steve Dallas, Bill the Cat, Milo Bloom, Michael Binkley, and Cutter John. Breathed was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Cartooning in 1987 for his work on Bloom County. The strip was published in an astounding 1200 newspapers.

The phenomenon that was Bloom County spawned a merchandizing bonanza, as well as two spin-off strips, Outland and Opus. The first paperback collection of the strip, Loose Tails, sold over one million copies. Bloom County paperbacks cumulatively sold over six million copies. At the height of the strip’s popularity, Breathed walked away on August 6th, 1989.

IDW Publishing Special Projects Editor Scott Dunbier conceived the series. “I’m absolutely thrilled to be editing the Bloom County Library,” said Dunbier. “This is a series that I can’t wait to hold in my hands.”

The Bloom County Library will also contain a series of “Context Pages” sprinkled throughout the volumes. These pages will provide perspective for the reader, presenting a variety of real-life events and personalities that were contemporary at the time of original publication.

Okay! Finally some good news! IDW is planning to add Alex Raymond’s gorgeous Rip Kirby to its deluxe comic strip reprint series, with the first Dean Mullaney-edited volume due in September:

Following the Eisner-award winning Terry and the Pirates, IDW’s Library of American Comics will present Alex Raymond’s modernist classic Rip Kirby in a definitive five-volume archival hardcover series.

Edited and designed by Dean Mullaney, Rip Kirby will contain every daily from the strip’s inception in 1946 through Alex Raymond’s tragic death in 1956. “It’s going to look gorgeous,” Mullaney says. “We are reproducing the strips from pristine syndicate proofs that will allow readers to see, for the first time, the full luxurious detail of Raymond’s brushwork.”

Rip Kirby was the first hip and cool detective in newspaper comics. Created by Alex Raymond when he was deactivated from the Marines after World War II, it was a fresh approach to the genre, a departure from the prevailing hard-boiled style of detective fiction. Rip Kirby was urbane and cerebral, and used scientific methods as often as he used his fists when solving crimes and mysteries. But there was still plenty of action — Kirby was an All-American athlete and decorated war hero.

Co-written with Ward Greene, Rip Kirby often addressed contemporary issues, including trafficking in black market babies and the attempt to limit the proliferation of atomic and biological weapons. The supporting cast was comprised of Rip’s valet and assistant, Desmond, and plenty of breathtaking women, particularly Rip’s girlfriend, Honey Dorian, and the raven-haired and aptly-named Pagan Lee. Highly conscious of the fashions of the day, Raymond brought post-war and early-50s chic and fashion to the comics page, dressing his female characters in ultra-chic clothes obviously inspired by Dior’s “New Look.”

The strip also signified a grand departure, both thematically and artistically, from Raymond’s first major creation, Flash Gordon. With Rip Kirby, Raymond wedded his incomparable brushwork to a sweeping approach to storytelling and camera movement that was missing in the more static Flash. He promulgated a new art style — one of cinematic photo-realism — that influenced such artists to follow as Stan Drake, Leonard Starr, Al Williamson, and Neal Adams.

Biographical and historic essays will be written by Brian Walker, author of the best-selling Comics Before 1945 and Comics After 1945. The first volume will have an introduction by Raymond biographer and authority Tom Roberts.

From the tone of his email, Tony Lee was very excited about this. We guess some others will be, too, although it whooshed right over our head.

The double page splash from issue #6 of Doctor Who: The Forgotten, out January 21st (IDW) that I’ve been talking about for a year. Art by Kelly Yates.

For those of you who missed it, we got a chance to interview uclick’s Douglas Edwards and Jeff Webber about their program to sell comics on iPhones for $0.99 an issue.

uclick has long been making comics content available for various mobile platforms, and Edwards is no stranger to interactive media, having arrived at uclick in May from Handmark, where he launched games and information apps, including the very successful Pocket Express. Although he didn’t deal with comics at Handmark, the business is a natural for uclick, given their large library of comics and connections to Universal Press Syndicate and Andrews McMeel Universal, he says.

Although he won’t give exact figures, Edwards notes that they are moving “thousands of units every couple of weeks on the best units.” Given that the project is only a few weeks old, momentum is still building. However, he observes “I’ve been at the launch of many products, and this is extremely promising. I wish that everything had started this well.” Bone has been the biggest success, but Papercuts’ Nancy Drew has also started out well, indicating that there may be a larger audience than thought for material aimed at a younger market.

A couple of thoughts that we couldn’t squeeze into the article: many people keep wishing that comics cost only 99 cents. Well, digitally, they do.

Also, as our questions indicated, it’s our suspicion that not all comics will be created equally for the iPhone, by whatever means they get there. And someone is going to invent the perfect comic for the perfect format and make a zillion bucks. Bet on it.

Related news items:

• Comixology has a well-reviewed new app for iPhone. We’ve been fiddling with it ourselves for a bit, and it’s prety useful, with columns pull lists and previews.

• uclick isn’t the only company putting up comics content on the iStore: iVerse is also in the mix, and just announced a deal with IDW to put up Star Trek comics.

On Saturday, December 6, from 10 am – 3 pm IDW will be having a parking lot sale! With special guests. A number of comic book creators will be on hand offering free autographs on their work, including Ben Templesmith (Wormwood, 30 Days of Night), Chris Ryall (Clive Barker’s The Great and Secret Show, Zombies vs. Robots), and Chris Mowry (Transformers).

The sale gives IDW a chance to thank fans for their continued support and for helping with the company’s phenomenal growth over the past few years. IDW was recently ranked No. 4 comic book publisher in the United States by Diamond Comic Distributors.

The sale is primarily intended to free up space in IDW’s warehouse for the company’s expanded and exciting line up of titles in 2009.

“Our warehouse manager is literally buried,” says IDW’s Chief Operating Officer, Greg Goldstein. “After 10 years of publishing, it’s only natural that the boxes have piled up because of accidental print overruns, books that were set aside as office copies, books intended for reviewers and others earmarked for promotional purposes. Time to get them out of here.”

The sale will be held in IDW’s parking lot, 5080 Santa Fe St, San Diego, CA 92109.

IDW is offering new comics for $1 each (Reg. $3.99 cover). Titles include — subject to availability — 30 Days of Night, Transformers, Star Trek, Wormwood, Spike, Fallen Angel, Dr. Who, Scarface, Gene Simmons, Metal Gear Solid, Clive Barker, Zombies vs. Robots, and CSI.

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IDW’s presidential nominees bios are out today, and the creators are going on a tour, starting TODAY:

Writers Jeff Mariotte & Andy Helfer will be appearing at comic shops in New York, Los Angeles, and Orange County to promote the release of Presidential Material: John McCain & Presidential Material: Barack Obama from IDW Publishing. The signings begin Wednesday, October 8th, the day the books are released, and continue until Friday, October 10th.

New York:

October 8th, 2:00 - 4:00 PM at Forbidden Planet, 840 Broadway, New York, NY 10003

October 8th, 5:00 - 7:00 PM at Jim Hanley’s Universe, 4 West 33rd St., New York, NY 10001

Los Angeles:

October 9th, 6:00 - 9:00 PM at Golden Apple Comics, 7018 Melrose Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90038

Orange County:

October 10th, 4:00 - 7:00 PM at Comics Unlimited, 16344 Beach Blvd., Westminster, CA 92683