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The End.
So long. Farewell. Auf Wiedersehen. Good night.
Posted by Michael May on Friday, February 8, 2008
So, this is it. Last post. The final columns are up and it's time to go.
I want to say one last thank you to everyone who's been involved in the site over the years, but I also want to point to where you can find them now. We've had an amazing amount of talent pass this way over the years.
Thanks first of all to Dan Wickline and Caleb Gerard for dreaming up Comic World News in the first place. Dan's column "Twelve Step Program" was a source of inspiration and practical, usable advice to a lot of young writers looking to break into the comics industry. You can find Dan now at his MySpace page and in comics stores everywhere, writing books like Steve Niles' Stange Cases from Image and Zenescope's upcoming 1001 Arabian Nights: The Adventures of Sinbad.
Caleb wrote a thought-provoking, occasionally controversial column called "Border Patrol" as well as the werewolfs-on-the-moon graphic novel Full Moon Fever with Joe Casey. Caleb's not on the web so much anymore, but he's doing fine with a beautiful family.
Thanks also to Rich Starkings, JG Roshell, and the rest of Comicraft. They've been amazing hosts and Rich's "Fathers Day" column was always interesting reading. You can still find both of them right where they've always been: providing awesome lettering, creating amazing fonts, producing the excellent Elephantmen, and publishing some great books through Active Images.
And don't worry about the forums. Rich and JG are rolling all those into the Comicraft sites, so they'll still be where you can get to them.
Shawn Hoke, in addition to being a wonderful right-hand man during my time as EiC, also wrote a very cool column called "Past the Front Racks" that introduced readers to a lot of great comics that they wouldn't have otherwise known about. And he's still doing that via his mini-comics blog, Size Matters.
David Welsh raised CWN's IQ by about 800 points when he came aboard with his manga column "Flipped". He continues to write about manga on his Precocious Curmudgeon blog.
Jennifer de Guzman's "Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now" has been so insightful and fun to read. I'm hoping to see it or something like it show up elsewhere, but in the meantime you can still read Jennifer's thoughts on the SLG blog.
Tim Janson was a recent addition to CWN, but I really valued his thoughtful "Judgment Day" column. You can continue reading Tim's thoughts on comics at Shotgun Reviews, Comic Critique, and as part of Newsarama's Best Shots team. You can also email him at t_janson@yahoo.com.
Benjamin Birdie, writer of "The Draft", continues doing good work on his and Kevin Church's webcomic The Rack.
Robin Etherington told us all about European comics in "Comics Have Never Been So Much Fun". By sheer coincidence* he also happens to create fun, European comics over at Studio Blink Twice.
*Actually not coincidence at all.
Another of our European correspondents, John Freeman, wrote "Comics and Crumpets" for us and he's still reporting on the British comics scene at Down the Tubes.
And I can't forget our first overseas columnists, Fabrice Sapolsky & Xavier Fournier, who wrote "From the Other Side". I don't read French, so I can't tell if they're still involved or not, but their French-language comics magazine Comic Box is still going strong.
Graeme McMillan was famous before he got here and famous after he left, but we were pleased to call him family for a while when he wrote "Grim Tidings". You can currently find Graeme all over the place, but most prolifically at Blog@Newsarama and The Savage Critics.
Matthew Phillon's "Guttermouth" was always a fun read, wasn't it? I'm not sure where Matthew is these days, but I'd love to read more from him.
Rachel Gluckstern's "Quoth the Raiven" was another really entertaining one. Rachel left CWN for DC where she currently edits Bat Lash, Justice League Unlimited, Looney Tunes and the upcoming Super Friends. She also works with Joan Hilty on Flash, Checkmate, Suicide Squad, and Blue Beetle as well as the Cartoon Network anthology books.
Rich Watson from "Chicks and Romance" is doing well over at Pop Culture Shock where he writes the Glyphs blog focusing on Black creators and characters in comics.
Phil Yeh, who traveled the world teaching kids about comics in "Avoiding Extinction" is still fighting the good fight at his website.
Jason Pomerantz's "Mysteries and Conundrums" was one of our most popular columns for a while, especially when he was annotating Neil Gaiman's 1602. You can currently catch up with Jason at Facebook.
Erick Hogan was moderating the makeover of fashion-challenged superheroes in "Spin Doctors" long before the excellent Project: Rooftop started doing it. I'm not sure where Erick is these days, but I miss him.
Dan Taylor, creator of Hero Happy Hour and former IDW editor, also did some writing for us with "Making It Up as I Go". Dan can currently be found providing updates on his latest projects at his blog.
And that brings me to Ed Cunard who served as Columns Editor for a while, then Managing Editor. He also wrote a column for us called "Subsurface Communications" and was responsible for recruiting 90% of the people I mentioned above.
Ed "hired" me to write reviews at CWN back in the day and was my first editor. He was also the little voice in my head for years after he left the site, pushing to make the place better and better. Honestly, the stuff I'm most proud of from my run as EiC came about by my wondering, "What Would Ed Do?" Thanks, Ed. And update your blog.
And thanks again to everyone who contributed and helped make Comic World News one of the coolest places on the Internet. And that includes you too, readers. We had some good times.
As for me, I'm mainly hanging out at the Newsarama blog these days as well as my own blog. Please drop by either place and say hello. I'm still reviewing comics and sharing news, so if you're a creator or publisher and I'm on your mailing list, I hope you'll keep me there.
See you around.
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Closing time
You don't have to go home...
Posted by Michael May on Wednesday, February 6, 2008
Word's already gotten out and that's okay, because honestly I meant to announce this earlier. Comic World News is closing down.
I held off for a couple of reasons, but the biggest one is the same reason I waited far longer than I should have to turn in my resignation as Editor in Chief of the place. I love this site and it's hard to let it go.
When I stepped into the EiC role a few years ago, I had big plans for CWN and I'm pleased that a lot of them came to fruition. We've had some killer columnists over the years and we were able to provide front page coverage for some worthy comics that get lost on the larger sites. And though I don't think we were afraid to say when something displeased us in the comics world, we mostly tried to focus on stuff we liked.
I'd like to take credit for all the successes, but I had way too much help to do that. Shawn Hoke has been indispensable in not only helping me recruit new columnists and editing the ones whe already had, but also in providing moral support. He's been a fantastic sounding board. Thanks, Shawn!
Not that our columnists needed a lot of editing. We've had so many great ones over the years and I'll post again on Friday to talk about some of them, but our current regulars: David Welsh, Tim Janson, and Jennifer de Guzman have all been especially interesting to read, great to work with, and unbelievably faithful. Thank you, all.
And of course I can't talk about the site's successes without mentioning one of the first things that I always hear about from folks: how amazing it looks. That's all thanks to our webmaster JG Roshell, Rich Starkings, and the other ComiCraft folks. Thanks to you guys, too.
But for all the help I had with the successes, some of my other plans for the site were never realized and that's all on me. I'm not beating myself up here, but it became obvious to me towards the end of last year that I didn't have time and was running out of energy to make all the improvements that I felt CWN needed and deserved. That had been true for a lot longer than I was aware of it, but my noticing it ultimately led to my decision to resign.
I'd hoped that another Editor in Chief would be able to take over and carry the site to the next level, but unfortunately, we weren't able to find anyone with the desire to take on the role. So, we've decided to close down the site.
It'll likely stay up until September when the registration expires, but I'll do a final update to this section on Friday with some links to where the forums are and where else you can find our contributors, etc. And that'll be it.
See you Friday.
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Oni resurrects letters columns
Resurrection series features letter-writing contest
Posted by Michael May on Wednesday, January 16, 2008
From Oni Press:
The premier issue of Marc Guggenheim & David Dumeer’s series, RESURRECTION, was just released. This is a book that everybody at Oni is thrilled about and we are looking for a fun interactive way for fans and readers to contribute to the series. As part of this new series, we are launching a new letters column called BUG WATCH and are giving out free comics to all those who get published in the BUG WATCH column and free original art to the best letter every month!
Here is what the series is about:
In the tradition of such timeless science fiction films like THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL and WAR OF THE WORLDS, RESURRECTION is the story of an alien race come to conquer. But while those classic tales focus on the invasion, RESURRECTION starts when those stories end.
After years of conflict, the aliens are gone and the planet is safe… or is it? Who and what were the aliens? Why did they come here? Who ended the war? How did they do it? Where do we go from here? What do we do now? Will we ever be able to recover? What does this mean for our societies, or religions, and our future way of life?
Written by Marc Guggenheim (WOLVERINE) and drawn by David Dumeer, RESURRECTION is a sweeping epic that focuses on uncovering the secrets of humanity’s survival and its attempts to rebuild after the most destructive cataclysm mankind has ever experienced.
Tell us what you like. Offer up some criticism. If you have ever wondered what happened after the curtains closed on all those old alien invasion films you have seen, write us a letter. Let your imagination run wild.
As part of this book’s launch, we wanted to highlight the letters column, BUG WATCH, and encourage readers to write in. As an incentive to people who may be reluctant to write letters, here is what we are prepared to offer:
For every letter that gets printed in RESURRECTION, we’ll mail a free copy of the next issue to the letter-writer. In addition to this, we’ll be featuring one “Letter of the Month” with each issue. If your letter is chosen for this feature, we’ll send you a copy of RESURRECTION #1 that is autographed by both Marc Guggenheim and David Dumeer. Not only that, but we’ll also send you a custom piece of original art by series artist, David Dumeer.
That’s right, folks… free comics and original art for your letters.
Send you letters and comments to resurrection@onipress.com.
And in case you missed the first issue, how about a preview?
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And... we're back
With Red 5 info
Posted by Michael May on Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Yes, yes. I suck.
I've got some things brewing and between that and the holidays... well, I just disappeared for a while and I'm sorry.
Time to play catch up.
First up, how about a look at the awesome Red 5's lineup for next month?
ATOMIC ROBO #5
Written by Brian Clevinger
Art by Scott Wegener
Colors by Ronda Pattison
An anomaly in Italy leads ROBO to a secret Helsingard lair filled with memories of battles past. But behind the "end boss" doors, protectors have awoken. "Tell me it's not cyborgs." "Then I'd have to lie."
Is this the end of ATOMIC ROBO and his famed Action Science League?
32 pages, $2.95, Feb 13, 2008
NEOZOIC #3
Written by Paul Ens
Art by J. Korim
Colors by Jessie Lam
Thousands of dinosaurs descend on Monanti and the entire Predator Defense League is called into action. But if the walls break, are the elite warriors enough to protect the city? And who or what is behind the lizard invasion?
32 pages, $2.95, Feb 27, 2008
ABYSS #3
Written by Kevin Rubio
Pencils and Cover by Lucas Marangon
Inks by Nick Schley
Colors by Andrew Dalhouse
Quiver, the latest in the long line of Arrow's ill-fated sidekicks, has been missing for three weeks. Eric, son of super-villain Abyss, may be holding the key to her location (and a plot of world domination). But it will take a trip to Oakland to find a man soulful enough to help.
32 pages, $2.95, Feb 20, 2008
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Happy Thanksgiving!
From aka Comics and Comic World News
Posted by Michael May on Wednesday, November 21, 2007
Jonnie Allan, creator of Stykman, sent us this nice message and invited us to share it with our readers. Happy Thanksgiving to you too, Jonnie.
And from Comic World News to all of you: a very thankful and pleasant holiday to you too.
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Happy Birthday, COMICRAFT!
Lettering powerhouse and CWN sponsor turns 15
Posted by Michael May on Wednesday, November 21, 2007
 Congratulations and many happy returns to Rich, JG, and the rest of the COMICRAFT gang!
Los Angeles, CA -- Nov 21, 2007-- Hundreds of fonts and logos of Unique Design, Thousands of pages of Fine Lettering, and Millions of Satisfied Customers and Elephantmen served! Yes, this month marks COMICRAFT’s 15th anniversary and we're celebrating with the relaunch of the COMICRAFT website and the launch of a brand new font.
The brand new font? COMICRAFT, of course! It’s a font that's not just a bunch of letters arranged in alphabetical order: this one's Carefree, Original, Mirthful and Interesting, Clever, a little bit Raunchy, a little bit Adventurous, Friendly and Tenacious all at the same time---and if that doesn't spell COMICRAFT, then we just didn't eat enough chocolate today.
“We know what you're thinking---we can read minds too---you’re thinking,” said President & First Tiger Richard Starkings, “that you've bought all our fonts, you've read COMIC BOOK LETTERING THE COMICRAFT WAY a dozen times, you've scoured BALLOON TALES for every tip and trick we have to offer. Come to that, you've even read TIM SALE BLACK AND WHITE, HIP FLASK: UNNATURAL SELECTION, HIP FLASK: CONCRETE JUNGLE and you subscribe to ELEPHANTMEN every month. In fact, you only buy RED SONJA and ASTRO CITY because of the unique design and fine lettering…but you still can't get enough Comicraft, can you?”
As if they’ve worked side by side for 15 years, Comicraft's Secret Weapon, John JG Roshell, had the answer: “We understand your needs and I’ve updated our site so that you can keep tabs on us every day of every month. New logo designs, new trade paperback designs, new fonts, all our newer new stuff will be blogged every week for COMICRAFT fans everywhere. You may not have known it, but the “I” in Comicraft stands for Informative, and the “O” stands for Blog--- er, OurBlog.”
COMICRAFT: Stimulating the release of endorphins in your system preferences since 1992.
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Surrogates movie ready to start production
Bruce Willis to star
Posted by Michael May on Monday, November 19, 2007
 Here's some cool news. Disney is making a movie based on Robert Venditti and Brett Weldele's The Surrogates. If you aren't familiar with it, The Surrogates was an excellent scifi mini-series from Top Shelf. Here's what I wrote about it at the time:
"This is some damn good speculative science fiction. We live in a world where anyone can log on to the Internet and pretend to be anyone they want to be. Even people who don’t use fake screen names still benefit from the fact that we aren’t pre-judged based on our appearances. It’s comforting to have that distance from the rest of the online world. Now, what if real life was like that too?
"What if you could buy a machine that could stand in as your surrogate when you went to work, on a date, or to the grocery store? The machine could look like whatever you wanted: any race, either gender, any body type. It could look like Angelina Jolie or Bono if you choose. And you’d control it, just like you control your online persona now. It would be you, just the version of you that you want to project to the world. No one would ever have to see the real version. That’s the world of The Surrogates. Only now, someone is 'killing' the Surrogates; destroying them with a powerful electrical discharge while uttering a single command: 'Live.'
"With dark, moody art inspired by the likes of Ash Wood and Ben Templesmith (so not a bad thing, in my opinion), The Surrogates follows police detective Harvey Greer who’s been assigned to the case. We see him begin to question the very idea of the surrogates and you’ll likely do that too and end up rooting for the 'bad guy.' After all, he’s not really hurting people; just damaging property. While you’re doing that though, you’ll probably also start thinking about yourself some. And that’s what the best science fiction does."
Shawn Hoke also reviewed it here.
The movie will be directed by Jonathan Mostow (Terminator 3) and scripted by Michael Ferris and John Brancato (also of Terminator 3). I never saw T3, so that parts not terribly exciting to me. The best news is that it'll star Bruce Willis, who's an excellent choice to play Detective Harvey Greer.
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The Top Shelf Seasonal Sampler Sale
Something for everyone
Posted by Michael May on Friday, November 16, 2007
 Man, I love these Top Shelf sales. Read carefully, 'cause there's something for everyone in the list of sale items.
Hey Comics Fans,
TOP SHELF PRODUCTIONS closes out the celebration of its Tenth Anniversary in publishing with some really cool holiday website incentives for our 2007 line. Until the end of November, we're offering the following giveaways at topshelfcomix.com.
FREE SHIPPING ON ALL DOMESTIC ORDERS!
A FREE COPY of the TOP SHELF SEASONAL SAMPLER! (to the first 100 fans who take advantage of this sale, as we only have 100 copies left)
Purchase Jeff Lemire's GHOST STORIES and get a free TALES FROM THE FARM!
Purchase Matt Kindt's SUPER SPY and get a free MEPHISTO!
Purchase Jeffrey Brown's INCREDIBLE CHANGE-BOTS and get a free FEEBLE ATTEMPTS!
Purchase James Kochalka's AMERICAN ELF (BOOK 1) and get a free BOOK 2!
Purchase James Kochalka's SUPER F*CKERS #3 and #4 and get free copies of #1 and #2!
Purchase Renee French's THE TICKING and get a free MICROGRAPHICA!
Purchase Jeremy Tinder's CRY YOURSELF TO SLEEP and get a free BLACK GHOST APPLE FACTORY!
Purchase David Yurkovich's DEATH BY CHOCOLATE and get a free LESS THAN HEROES!
Purchase Nicolas Mahler's LONE RACER and get a free VAN HELSING'S NIGHT OFF!
Purchase Christian Slade's KORGI (BOOK 1) and get a free OWLY (VOL 4) by Andy Runton!
Purchase Alex Robinson's LOWER REGIONS and get a free YEARBOOK STORIES by Chris Staros!
Purchase Aleksandar Zograf's REGARDS FROM SERBIA and get a free FOX BUNNY FUNNY by Andy Hartzell!
Purchase Alan Moore's LOST GIRLS and get a free copy of THE MIRROR OF LOVE!
PLEASE NOTE that the website won't mention the free books at check out, so just order the books you want to order, and we'll be sure to include the freebies that are paired with them. Sale ends November 30th!
PLEASE ALSO NOTE that this sale is good for "direct market" retailers as well, and comic book shops will get their wholesale discount on top of these sale offers. Certain minimums apply, so retailers please email us for details.
It's a great time to load up on all those '07 graphic novels you've wanted to try, but just never got around to picking up. So use these incentives to try something new. You won't be disappointed.
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April 22, 2008:
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