Graphic Novels for Reading Groups: Do You Do It?
Through the years, I've been a member of several reading groups. Unfortunately, they've rarely involved graphic novels (and when they did, it was at my suggestion). This is why I've always loved events like comics conventions: By and large, the vast majority of my friends and family do not read comics, so conventions were always a chance to meet with like-minded people.
-- John HoganUnemployed Man Saves the Day
USA Today features a fun and interesting review of a new (and, for better or worse, very timely) new graphic novel: The Adventures of Unemployed Man by Erich Origen and Gan Golan. The $14.99 book is from Little, Brown. (The names of the villains made me laugh: The Man, The Human Resource, and the killers Nickel & Dime.) It's unfortunate that the book fits in with society's ills right now...but maybe it's better to laugh.
-- John HoganZombies Are Invading
The Walking Dead is coming to TV this Sunday (Halloween), and walking dead zombies are invading 26 cities around the globe tomorrow. So get ready! The undead will be wreaking havoc everywhere from New York to Athens to Rome. That's a lot of zombies and a lot of carnage. Read on for more details, including the press release.
-- John HoganThe Walking Dead Are Coming
I'm a huge fan of Walking Dead, so I'm understandably excited about the upcoming TV series on AMC. It's debuting, appropriately enough, on Halloween (if you couldn't guess by the title, it's a series about zombies). It's also a graphic and emotionally shocking series (at least in comics; I'm incredibly curious to see how closely the TV show will hew to the source material and how well that will play out with a TV audience if they do). Actor Andrew Lincoln seems like a nice choice to play the lead.
-- John HoganMore Events at MoCCA
New York's Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art is having a busy fall. They're starting their fall lineup of courses in the coming week, including the Anatomy for Cartoonists Workshop and How to Write Funny Comics and Gag Cartoons, and coming up October 21 at 7 p.m. is Artist Talk with Denis Kitchen. This will tie in with MoCCA's new exhibition, Denis Kitchen: An Oddly Compelling Mini-Retrospective (which itself ties in with Denis's new book, The Oddly Compelling Art of Denis Kitchen). Check them out if you're interested!
-- John HoganReflections on New York Comic Con
I'm a little late in getting this posted (due to an unfortunate week without internet connectivity), but I wanted to post some brief musings on the wonderful world of comics that occurred last weekend. It began with the excellent ICv2 conference on Thursday (put on by Milton Griepp), which covered the current state of the industry. In brief, it turns out individual monthly comics sales are up slightly, manga sales are down for the third year in a row, and digital sales are up tremendously.
-- John HoganMoCCA Classes Begin This Month
If you're in the New York area, check out the Museum of Cartoon and Comic Art's new fall lineup of classes (and if you're not a member yet, sign up! It's a great organization!). For more details, visit their site.
-- John HoganMark Waid Takes the Initiative
Mark Waid, editor-in-chief of Boom! Studios, has partnered with The Hero Initiative for a new program that will help a very worthy cause. The venture allows comics fans (and their friends and family) in California, Nevada, Illinois, and Indiana to align their supermarket rewards cards (including Ralphs, Food4Less, Cala Foods, and Bell Markets) with the Community Contributions program to help comic book creators in need of emergency medical aid, financial support, and other needs.
-- John HoganClaremont and Levitz: Together Again for the First Time
Two of my childhood comics idols, Chris Claremont and Paul Levitz, will be appearing together next week at Columbia for a talk entitled Claremont & Levitz: Jewish Influences & Themes in American Comics. Presented by the Institute for Israel and Jewish Studies, the talk will take place at Columbia University's Schermerhorn Hall from 8:00 to 10:00 p.m. on Wednesday, October 13.
-- John HoganStan Lee at New York Comic-Con
Stan Lee continues to amaze me. He's now the cofounder and COO of Pow! Entertainment, which is an offshoot of Boom!, one of my favorite publishers. Stan's spearheading a new line of comics for Pow! (including The Traveler and Soldier Zero), and he's now teaming with 1821 Comics for a new three-book deal that will be announced at New York Comic Con on Friday at 1:30 (in booth #2125). Decades after creating some of the most enduring and popular heroes in history, Stan is still creating more comic dreams. Check him out if you get a chance.
-- John Hogan
