Neil Gaiman on CBS Sunday Morning
In an Oscar-themed episode, CBS Sunday Morning interviewed Neil Gaiman today in recognition of the movie based on his work Coraline. It's one of my favorite movies of last year, a delightfully spooky (and NOT kid-centered, which is incredibly refreshing) film about a frustrated girl who tires of her parents' not paying attention to her and finds an "Other Mother" waiting for her in a different universe. It was the traditional "gee-whiz" kind of interview (Neil Gaiman has dolls in his house! And some of them move!
-- John HoganGNR Sponsors "New York, the Super City"
Our good friend Peter Gutierrez, writer and reviewer and graphic novel columnist, is putting on a great new panel this coming Tuesday, March 9, for the New York Center for Independent Publishing. The panel, "New York, the Super City," will focus on how New York City inspired some of the greatest comics writers and artists in their efforts to create some of the best comics characters of all time. That includes Batman's hometown of Gotham City, Superman's Metropolis, Will Eisner's take on The Spirit, the web-swinging adventures of Spider-Man.
-- John HoganPrime Baby Preview!
Award winner Gene Luen Yang (American Born Chinese, Eternal Smile) returns with a new look at sibling rivalry and aliens (with a lot of math thrown in)! Here’s a preview of the book before it goes on sale April 13th.
Reading With Pictures Announces a New Anthology
Nonprofit group Reading With Pictures is going to be raising some funds for its charitable endeavours through the release of an exciting new comics anthology. The anthology will feature stories from 50 top comics creators (some of the names involved include Jim Gownley, Eric Wight, Fred Van Lente, and Jill Thompson, who drew the cover) and all the stories will be education-themed. Reading With Pictures uses comics as educational tools and partners with educational facilities to accomplish their mission.
-- John HoganA Little TV Talk
The marrying of comics and mass media continues, and right now, it's a good time to be a comics fan, it seems. It's obvious in movies, of course, that comics are being mined for their storylines and characters. But the television world is getting more and more into the act. For a decade now, that's included Smallville, and a few years ago came the introduction of Heroes.
-- John HoganThe LA Times Adds a Comics Award
Every year, the Los Angeles Times holds its Los Angeles Times Festival of Books celebration, a weekend devoted to great books and the people who make them possible. When I lived in San Diego, I used to attend as often as possible, given that the festival has one major drawback (for me, anyway): It always falls on or around my birthday. This year, I've already made separate travel plans for the weekend of April 24th and 25th, but I wish I could be attending (GNR president and publisher Carol Fitzgerald will be there, though).
-- John HoganSuperman, Batman, and Breaking Records
When I was growing up, certain truths were just absolute. When it came to comics, Action Comics #1, the first appearance of Superman, which came out in 1938, was the most valuable comic book in the world. Period. And there weren't that many of them.
Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths Is Coming Next Week
I'm just back from a premiere of Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths at the Paley Center here in New York, and I've got to say, it's a great PG-13 thriller that comics fans will love...especially you longtime fans: You'll enjoy seeing some surprising (and evil) versions of the Detroit Justice League (yes, that means Vibe), Halo and Looker from the Outsiders, and even a really bad Uncle Dudley from the Marvel family.
Cybil Awards Announced
In a field that included some very excellent nominees, winners of this year's Cybils are truly wonderful standouts. The awards celebrate books with both kid appeal and literary achievement, and are given in a number of categories, both prose and graphic.
-- John HoganOn Comics, Prose, and Print Runs
The New York Times has an article on prose authors moving into graphic novels, most notably with the huge announcement of Twilight coming from Yen Press and its staggering print run (350,000 copies). Janet Evanovich is also the focus here, as Dark Horse has just announced it will print 100,000 copies of her Motor Mouth graphic-novel series.
-- John Hogan
