Via PR, the start of what you know is going to be a new comics cottage industry.

To millions he was the King of Pop; one of the world’s most cherished entertainers and a celebrated international icon. With his untimely passing, Michael Jackson left an extraordinary and tragic legacy. Bluewater Productions is paying tribute in October to his memory and legacy with a special collectors edition biography comic.

The newest addition to the publisher’s critically acclaimed biography library will trace Jackson’s rise as a musical prodigy with the “Jackson 5” through last Thursdays sad end. The book will feature highlights from his storied career and cover his enigmatic private life.

“Michael Jackson’s music served as the soundtrack to countless lives…including mine,” said Bluewater president Darren G. Davis, “His influence on our culture has been profound.”

“TRIBUTE: Michael Jackson, King of Pop,” features a wraparound cover and foreword by “The Official Michael Jackson Fan Club’s” Giuseppe Mazzola. Mazzola was also Jackson’s personal friend. The issue is being written by Wey-Yuih Loh, (Political Power: Colin Powell” and “Political Power: Joe Biden) and illustrated by Giovanni Timpano (Vincent Price Presents). Noted cover artist Vinnie Tartamella will also provide an alternate wraparound cover.

“This is a celebration of his life and what he meant to a legion of fans,” Davis said. “Although the book won’t shy away from some of his personal troubles, we try to tell a balanced story that shows Jackson as a musical genius, an unparalleled superstar and as a complex person.”

Davis noted that he initially waffled at producing a tribute comic, but after receiving dozens of emails and phone calls he knew it was the proper way to show respect and give fans a lasting remembrance.

A lot of illustrators remember the King of Pop at Drawger, and you can look through his April estate auctions here. The 242 pages of arcade games, Disneyana and other pop culturey stuff might be the most interesting, but Jackson’s addiction to frou frou Victoriana antiques and furnishings is fairly astonishing as well.

BTW, apparently Jackson’s rehearsal the night before his death was recorded and taped in high def video. So there should be at least one more moneymaker in the troubled pop star’s oeuvre.

And now, to remember the most important thing, here’s Amanda Palmer singing “Billie Jean” at the Troubadour the day MJ died.

Harris Comics — home of Vampirella — discusses the character’s return and new price point — FELL format — in an editorial by Bon Alimagno.

So we set a goal: break back into the Top 100 for the first time in years. But we knew what we were up against. Even armed with a stellar, game changing story by Phil Hester and art by future star Daniel Sampere, we faced an army of torch-bearing doubters and critics. We needed to do something radical, something that would break through the pollution of hype and nonsense that fills your daily intake of comics news and assorted mumbo-jumbo. So we put our money where our mouth is: we’re pricing every issue, yes, EVERY ISSUE, of this miniseries $1.99.

Are we giving these folks too much publicity by posting these ongoing covers?

Or is it just fun for everyone?

With both Heroes Con and Wizard World Philadelphia this weekend, it was a very busy week for news, so here’s a quick tour, as best as we can make out.

§ Top Shelf is among the first publishers to announce a comics program for Kindle:

Top Shelf announced this weekend at HeroesCon that Andy Runton’s “Owly,” the friendly all-ages title featuring forest animals speaking in pictograms, would mark the publisher’s first entry into the Amazon Kindle marketplace. The first five volumes of “Owly” are now available on Amazon’s ebook reader for $4.00 each, and a Kindle edition of the 2008 Free Comic Book Day issue can be puchased for $.99. CBR News spoke with Runton and Top Shelf publisher Chris Staros about the release.

§ Azzarello and Rags Morales on DOC SAVAGE…we’d totally read that!

Didio then revealed that DC would bring back the classic pulp hero Doc Savage via a monthly series to be written by Brian Azarello (”100 Bullets”) and drawn by Rags Morales. Morales said that the series will bring Savage into the DCU, though it will take place in an alternate universe where he will work and interact alongside such classic characters as Blackhawk and Will Eisner’s The Spirit. The world Savage lives in will also be a blend of our modern era and the classic ‘30s pulp era he comes from (”cell phones and tommy guns” as DiDio put it). No news was given about a release date yet.

§ Jeff Katz talks about the first four books from his American Origin line

Vengeance Is Mine — Writer Jeff Katz, artist Thomas Nachlik.
Daybreak — Writers Gary Whitta and Brian Lynch, artist Marco Castiello
Blastosaurus — Writer/artist Richard Fairgray
Comedy Deathray Anthology — Editor Scott Aukerman (Mr. Show)

§ Marvel signs up novelist David Liss to write The Phantom Reporter:

If you aren’t familiar with Liss, he’s been building a sterling reputation this decade. In 2000, his A Conspiracy of Paper was released; it was named a New York Times Notable Book, and garnered Liss 2001 Barry, MacAvity and Edgar awards for Best First Novel. The follow-up, 2003’s The Coffee Trader, was also named a New York Times Notable Book and was selected by the New York Public Library as one of the year’s 25 Books to Remember. Since then, he’s published three more novels, and has another new one, The Devil’s Company (also featuring his recurring protagonist Benjamin Weaver) due for release later this year.

§ PLUS: Jeff Smith & Alec Longstreth on the Indie Way.

Robot 6 has the cover and details on KRAMERS ERGOT meets the Simpsons, an event sure to leave Humankind limp and dazed in its wake. Click on the link for the startling details!

We know that MoCCA”s statute of limitations has run out and no one wants to talk about it any more, but we’ve collected a few last links of note — let’s just call it Rashomocca — it seems everyone had something to say.

For a little perspective, we’ve dredged up MoCCA 2002 — “BIG APPLE GOES INDIE!”, the story we wrote about the very first MoCCA for the now-vanished SPLASH page at Comicon.com, not because it’s such a great story but because it gives some kind of idea of he impact that the first show had on the New York and indie comics crowds. (It’s also instructive to see how the fashion of Who is Hot has changed in seven years, written as it was in the midst of the “Team Comics” era.) We even found some of our photos from Back In The Day. (Above, James Kochalka at the Highwater party…ah yes, remember Highwater.)

And now back to the present:
Tom Spurgeon prints the “Thank you” letter from the show organizer which has been going around (we got forwarded it a few times as well), which did not seem to sit well with a lot of exhibitors.

Ed Sizemore notes that mini-comics are not cheap any more:

I saw asking prices of $5.00 for a twenty-page mini-comic that was only three inches square. For that price I could get a full-sized comic professionally printed from either Evil Twin Comics or Blacklist Studios. I know the tables were expensive, but you have to price yourself competitively.

Jog One
Jog Two
Tucker Stone with some financials on the costs of exhibiting at the Armory.
Tom Devlin
Jessica Campbell
Vice Magazine’s Nick Gazin
Hope Larson
A discussion of the hot vs. comics argument in the comments.

Female Force cannot be stopped!

And because you can never get enough Obama, here’s their painted cover variant. Isn’t he dreamy? Maybe he’s thinking about…The White House!

Hope Larson at the smashing party she organized.

Okay, this is our BIG Post-MoCCA post, and to break up the ranting we’ll intersperse it with a few of our less crappy pictures.

First, a few of my own notes. I think the Armory was actually not such a bad venue for the show — had it been a cooler day out, I suspect that more people would have been inclined to merely sit back and enjoy its eccentricities and unique architectural details. Like the Puck Building, it’s old and historic, but unlike the tenants of the Puck Building, apparently the National Guard doesn’t have the dough to install central AC for a space the size of an airplane hangar.

And, having everyone in one room on one floor was much better than the crazy quilt layout of the Puck. There was so much more room to stand around and talk and gather and read comics and drink water and just kick back. AND having the panels just a stone’s throw away was a HUGE improvement.

That said, while it was an okay venue in theory, several things made it not so good in practice.

High ceilings ascend into blackness.

Technorati Tags: Mocca 09

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Fresh off While continuing his run on the ever-cosmic GØDLAND, Tom Scioli is back to his own graphic novel, And yes, it looks familiar. But that is the fun of it.

On August 27, A-Okay Comics celebrates the 10-year anniversary of Thomas Scioli’s Xeric-Winning sci-fi fantasy comic series, The Myth of pus by releasing the first all-new installment in 5 years, The Myth of pus:The Labyrinth.

Why the 5-year gap since the last graphic novel? “Once Godland took off, it ate up so much of my time, ” says writer-artist Scioli, “My intention was to do my work for Image, and keep pus going on the side, but I just wasn’t prepared for the number of hours a monthly comic takes. I had to squirrel away time for it, but I finally was able to finish Labyrinth. I can’t wait to get it out there. It’s where my heart is.”

“8-Opus, the title character, is a space-faring demigod compelled by visions of the past, present and future shown to him by his mystical stone mask. In this latest installment, pus embarks on star-spanning odyssey to expose a conspiracy of cosmic proportions.The tone is a bit different from Godland. It’s got the whole cosmic kirbyesque flavor, but this is underground stuff, real do-it-yourself comics. I wrote, drew and lettered the whole thing from start-to-finish. This is my most personal vision. To me this is a homecoming. My comics career started with pus. I’ve drawn a lot of comics since then and learned a lot about the craft. Now I’ve come back to pus bringing with me all I’ve learned.”

We’re still trying to collate our own thoughts of MoCCA ‘09 — despite the problems, it was a GREAT SHOW — but others got there first and have reflected our own thoughts. A few early links:

§ Marion Vitus’s Flickr stream contains much that makes MoCCA the special time it is, from the “Drink and Draw Like a Lady” party to a big group of friends eating in a park on a perfect summer night (above).

§ Veteran observer and participant Sean T. Collins has a very strong post with both the highs and the lows well-explained.

§ Likewise, Brian Heater’s account at The Daily Cross Hatch is a wide-ranging and comprehensive write-up. He also has photos. (Why, oh why, did ours have to be so shitty?)

We got to meet our fellow blogger Sandy Bilus of I Love Rob Liefeld, and his thoughts, too, should be pondered.

AND, some randomly Googled blogger entries from non-household names: freakylynx:

This new location was quite a change from the old. The pluses would be that it offered more space, higher ceilings (you appreciate that more when you consider how many people are roaming around an enclosed area), quicker to reach from the subway, and perhaps that everyone was in one spot rather than in an off room where they might be missed. It’s weird isn’t it, something new might be an improvement overall but I still missed the personality of the old building - sure some people were on the second floor which required cramp, heated elevator rides, and sure sure it could be almost a bit of a maze to get from one end to the other with rooms of varying sizes which had to be explored so you could spot everyone’s table - but the place had freakin’ personality rather than being just one large square room! Ah well.

§ And Danielle Griffith:

So far, it’s going pretty well! I am at home, exhausted, not doing fun stuff, because not only did I do too much fun stuff too late Friday night, but it was hot in the Armory. By the way, MoCCA is in a freaking National Guard Armory. It’s sort of strangely forboding, like, you feel like you’re trapped inside while the zombie hordes are clamoring outside. It’s huge and hot. I was very tired by the end of the day, despite consuming a total of five shots of espresso and one grande iced coffee from Starbucks.

We forgot our camera for most of the day yesterday, and our photos are Officially The Shittiest MoCCA Photos Ever, but this one shot of comics blogger/critic Tucker Stone during his show-ending rendition of “Smells Like Teen Spirit” at last night’s live band karaoke/CBLDF party should frighten you into repentance immediately.

Luckily, Geekanerd has more normal, less deeply troubling photos.

PS: Last night was a fab night, with Douglas Wolk, Christine Hart, and other folks bringing down the house and a tremendous turnout of cartooners, bloggers, and actual comics readers. Good times. We hear all the other parties were great, too.

Well, as you may have heard, there were a lot of snafus for the opening day of MoCCA at their new venue. The scheduled 11:00 am start time was pushed back an hour when crucial boxes weren’t delivered on time, and many publishers didn’t have their books. The end time of the show was pushed back an hour and panels also got pushed back, which created more problems when the show ended.

Meanwhile, a HUGE line of people waiting to get in went around the block. Some people we spoke with were not happy that they had to wait in line for an hour in a strong morning sun. Even when they started letting people in at around noon, there was still a very healthy line of folks.

Inside, annoyances were soon forgotten — or at least reduced to talking points — by the large, enthusiastic crowd swarming the battlements in search of new comics treasure.

A few things about the The 69th Regiment Armory:

• It is an actual National Guard Armory — the home of the “Fighting 69th”* , so there were actually a couple of National Guardsmen and jeeps around, along with historical frescoes showing scenes from American history.

• It was built in 1904 and it is HUGE and does not have AC. The gymnasium-like interior was originally used for marshaling and drills, so you can only imagine how hot those people got. Show at the Armory with lots of money to spend (antique shows, fashion shows) often truck in giant AC units, but I imagine that isn’t practical for a non-profit like MoCCA.

And now some points about the show:

• The new space is VERY BIG, almost like a regular old comics convention and not like the boutique coziness of SPX or the old MoCCA. It is great to have everyone all on one floor and the greater variety of exhibitors is definitely a plus.

• There was certainly a big, big crowd at the show on Saturday, but whether they were buying tons of comics is not immediately clear.

• While making lots of money is a surefire way to make people forget their gripes, we heard a LOT of legitimate gripes about the organization of this year’s show, and unhappiness with the Armory (mainly due to the AC situation.)

• Despite that, everyone was having a good time! Comics and friends! What could be better. Kazimir Strzepek’s THE MOURNING STAR #2 and David Mazzucchelli’s ASTERIOS POLYP were the most mentioned buzz books, but the wall of Scandinavian, Danish, and other foreign comics was also a treasure trove of amazing new stuff.

As I write this, it is a beautiful day out, but if you like comics and are nearby, come to MoCCA for some good comics.

And tonight….don’t forget this awesome event. I’ll be there if I can drag my carcass out one more time.

• That’s opposed to the less famous “Non-aggressive 68th.”

Despite the rain last night, it was a jam packed night of socializing on the MoCCA party front. We started the evening at the Romanian comics talk, which was a fascinating look at a comics movement starting from the ground up in only a few years. We’ll have more on that after we get the proper spellings of the names!

Then we caught the last hour or so of Drink and Draw Like a Lady, which was an incredible assemblage of talented, smart folks, including hosts Hope Larson and Raina Telgemeier, Kate Beaton, Meredith Gran, Carol Turrell, Mario Vitus, Becky Cloonan, MK Reed, Abby Denson and actually…scores of other people. The place was mobbed early on.

THEN it was off to the Future Ink party, which was also mobbed. Folks were standing on the street in the misting rain either under an umbrellas, in a hoodie or just letting it all hang out. After the beer ran out, it was off to a secret after party.

Out correspondents at Rocketship report that their Syncopated party was equally packed, with kegs of beer drained in a speedy manner. Guess cartoonists like free beer. Who knew?

Pictures and details later…now off to MoCCA!

Spider-Man by Jason. The lost Peter Bagge Incorrigible Hulk story. Iron Man by Tony Millionaire. Are such ideas just the fevered dreams of an overactive imagination as we go into MoCCA…or reality? Happily, it’s REAL, as Marvel has finally announced their “indie” anthology featuring the best cartoonists of the day working on Marvel’s icons. The book has been in the works for a few years under several editors, but bits and pieces have drifted out, such as a Dash Shaw-penned Dr., Strange tale. The book is finally on the schedule, and fittingly, it’s been given the name STRANGE TALES, a Marvel title that goes back to the Silver Age and hosted memorable work by Ditko, Kirby, and Steranko.

The three issue limited series will debut in September as part of the MAX line, with 48 pages of stories by in each issue. More PR below:

Paul Pope, Peter Bagge, Molly Crabapple &John Leavitt, Junko Mizuno, Dash Shaw, James Kochalka, Johnny Ryan, Michael Kupperman, Nick Bertozzi, Nicholas Gurewich, Jason and more unite for the all-new Strange Tales MAX!

Just what does Peter Bagge have planned in “The Incorrigible Hulk”, a story so incredible that we had to serialize it over all three issues? Will Spider-Man make it out alive of Jason’s thrilling story? This first issue comes wrapped in a marvel-ous cover by Paul Pope and Jose Villarubia!

“Flat out, this is the apex of human artistic achievement. This is it. The end. The crowning result of tens of millions of years of evolution, right here, in three packed-to-the-gills issues,” said Editor John Barber. “The philosophy of the book was to have these creators from ‘indy’ or ‘alternative’ or “literary” or ‘art’ comics come in and do what they do best. I think Marvel readers will really dig seeing radically different versions of their favorite characters, and the fans of these cartoonists will get to see the creators work in a milieu they never thought they’d get to see. It’s win-win. It’s really the best of both worlds.”

Editor Jody LeHeup added, “This book is a metric ton of solid gold awesome. The talent we’ve got lined up are without hyperbole some of the greatest creative minds working in comics today. I mean, who wouldn’t want to read a Spider-Man story by Jason? Or an Iron man story by Tony Millionaire? Or anything by any of the contributors we’ve got attached to the project? I’ve been reading independent comics my whole life and I’ve always wanted to see what those creators could do with Marvel characters if they were given free reign to tell their stories. Well, now that visions becoming a reality and I can’t tell you what an incredibly special thing it is to see the final result. If you’re a fan of comics of any school, do yourself a favor and pick this up.”

STRANGE TALES MAX #1 (of 3)

Written and Drawn by: PAUL POPE, PETER BAGGE, MOLLY CRABAPPLE &JOHN LEAVITT, JUNKO MIZUNO, DASH SHAW, JAMES KOCHALKA, JOHNNY RYAN, MICHAEL KUPPERMAN, NICK BERTOZZI, NICHOLAS GUREWICH, AND JASON

Cover by PAUL POPE

Explicit Content …$3.99

MoCCA debuts .. this is gonna take a long time so get a frosty one.

TOP SHELF will be debuting:

– Kevin Cannon’s FAR ARDEN
– Bwana Spoons’ WELCOME TO FOREST ISLAND
– Niklas Asker’s SECOND THOUGHTS

and also featuring:

– Nate Powell (SWALLOW ME WHOLE)
– Alex Robinson (TOO COOL TO BE FORGOTTEN), &
–Matt Kindt (SUPER SPY)

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Pantheon will have signings by Josh Neufeld (A.D.), David Heatley (My Brain is Hanging Upside Down) and David Mazzucchelli — ASTERIOS POLYP.

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Secret Acres will be debuting Minty Lewis’s PS Comics at MoCCA.

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Yow! We had so many debuts we had to split them up into two posts. In this one, we look at individuals and their debuting comics, books and minis. Thanks to everyone who wrote in!

Box Brown has two debuts and three books:
1) Xeric funded book Book “Love is a Peculiar Type of Thing”
2) The Ultimate Bellen! webcomic collection These Dreams Keep Me Going These Days
3) Unsyndicated Press: A newspaper collection of the failed Bellen! United Features Newspaper Strip

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Bill Roundy: I’ll be exhibiting at the MoCCA Art Festival again this year! And I’ve got a debut: “The Amazing Adventures of Bill: the complete journal comics”, a 296-page tome collecting five years of my webcomic. I’ll also have a selection of gay romantic-comedy mini-comics, featuring monsters, pirates, and superheroes.

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Peter Quach is a new cartoonist who will be selling his self-published TRANSIT at the show. “Transit is a story of being in your 20s in the city, somewhat lost, and yet not totally alone. It’s a story of transitioning from one era of your life to another. And it’s a story of the connections between people that sometimes keep us alive. Try before you buy: Read the whole thing online.

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Via PR: here’s the lineup for programming and more info on this year’s MoCCA — programming will take place at the new venue, the Armory. We’ll certainly be around for Tomine/Seth and Panter/Santoro on Sunday!

The Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art – MoCCA is pleased to announce the panel and lecture line-up for our 2009 MoCCA Festival, taking place the weekend of June 6-7. This year’s MoCCA Festival program features a rich mix of animators, cartoonists, graphic artists, and academics. Our special guests include Tom Hart, Al Jaffee, Tom Kaczynski, Heidi MacDonald, Gary Panter, Bill Plympton, Arnold Roth, Dash Shaw, Seth, Raina Telgemeier, Adrian Tomine, and Jennifer Tong. Saturday’s program opens with author Charles Hatfield discussing his forthcoming critical study of Jack Kirby with Isaac Cates, and closes with a talk by Paul Karasik on the twisted genius of Fletcher Hanks. At 1:00 pm on Saturday industry legend Jerry Robinson will be presented with the Klein Award. Sunday’s program starts with a conversation between Kent Worcester and Tom Kaczynski, and wraps up with a special hour of Satanic-inspired animation. The MoCCA Festival, now in its eighth year, is an annual fundraiser for the Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art – MoCCA.

Saturday, June 6

11 am – 11:50 am
Charles Hatfield and Isaac Cates on Jack Kirby

Noon – 12:50 pm
Comics Bakery Roundtable

With John Green, Dave Roman, Raina Telgemeier, Marion Vitus

1:00 pm – 1:45 pm
Klein Award Ceremony

2009 Recipient: Jerry Robinson, presented by Danny Fingeroth, with a survey of Robinson’s career.

2:00 pm – 2:50 pm
Making Good Comics in a New Era

With Alvin Buenaventura, Mats Jonsson, Tom Neely, Brett Warnock, Julia Wertz, Dylan Williams; chaired by Heidi MacDonald

3:00 pm – 3:50 pm
AH, HUMBUG! Arnold Roth and Al Jaffee in conversation with Gary Groth

4:00 pm – 4:50 pm
Scandinavian Comics 101

Chaired by Steffen P. Maarup, with cartoonists from Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden

5:00 pm – 6:00 pm
Paul Karasik on the Twisted Genius of Fletcher Hanks
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