FCBD: Free Comic Books Day 2009

Image by technochick via Flickr

You already know what FCBD is right? No? Well, Free Comic Book Day is pretty much what it sounds like: a dream come true. You head out to a comic book store, and if they're participating then they'll have some free (yes! totally free) comics that have the FCBD logo on them. If you want the full details, click here for the FAQ.

There's no catch, except it's a gimmick staged by comic book publishers and distributors to get people hooked on reading comics. So, if you're already hooked on comics you're in!

I can't decide whether to go to Excalibur Comics, or Cosmic Monkey Comics. I'm sure Things From Another World (TFAW), Dark Horse's flagship store will also have FCBD as well, but I prefer the others. I'll definitely check out the Archie and the Bongo Comics offerings.

Here's a rundown on the titles available for Free Comics Book Day 2009 (Click here to see the covers):
Gold Sponsor Comics

• Avengers
  
• Blackest Night #0
  
• Bongo Comics Free-For-All!
  
• Disney/Pixar's Cars #1
  
• Resurrection #0
  
• Savage Dragon #148
  
• Shonen Jump Presents: Ultimo
  
• Star Wars: The Clone Wars
  
• The Mighty Archie Art Players
  
• Transformers Animated/G.I. Joe

Silver Sponsor Comics

• Aliens/Predator
  
• APE Cartoonapalooza #2
  
• Arcana Studio Presents
  
• Atomic Robo And Friends
  
• Attack Of The Alterna-Zombies!
  
• Comics Festival! 2009 Volume 3
  
• Contract #1
  
• Cyberforce/Hunter-Killer Preview
  
• Dabel Bros. Showcase
  
• DC Kids Mega Sampler
  
• FCHS
  
• Fist Of Justice #1
  
• Gold Digger #101/Prince Of Heroes
  
• IMPACT University Volume 5
  
• Love & Capes
  
• Love & Rockets Sampler
  
• Mercy Sparx: Under New Management
  
• Nancy & Melvin Monster
  
• NASCAR Heroes: Origins #1
  
• Owly And Friends
  
• Radical 2009 Preview
  
• Sonic The Hedgehog: Evolution Of A Hero
  
• Studio 407 Sampler
  
• The Stuff of Legend
  
• The Wizard Hot List
  
• TMNT #1 25th Anniversary Reprint
  
• Warhammer Fantasy
  
• William Shatner Presents #1
  
• Wolverine: Origin Og An X-Man
  
• Worlds Of Aspen #4

Additional Items
FCBD 2009 Minimate
Magic The Gathering: Agents Of Artifice Sampler

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Stumptown Comics Fest 2009- Part 2

On the second day of the Stumptown Comics fest I went to two exciting panels, both featuring Dark Horse Comics editor Diana Shutz. I considered the talks exciting because they both dealt with bringing some realism into the comics industry. The first was “Teaching Comics,” and it focused on learning the nuts and bolts of making comics, while the second was “Editing for Comics,” and it explained the role of the editor in large or small productions.

The “Teaching Comics” panel was hosted by Diana, Robyn Chapman from the Center for Cartoon Studies, as well as Alec Longstreth and Jesse Wrecklaw. They talked about ways to teach a class when asked “can you talk to my class about comics?” Shutz handed out her course description for a class she teaches at PCC called "Art 217: Undertanding Comics Art". Reklaw also handed out a sample sheet from his course “Making Comics Art” that described and showed types of shots (medium, close-up, long shot, establishing shot..), emanata (the iconic lines you see coming out of people in comics, eg: speed lines, emotions, motion), and a set of example facial expressions. They also gave out some secrets if you want to teach comics: keep an open mind about doodling in class, urge your students to tell their own stories, and always finish your workshops with a publication. As Diana Shutz said, comics are “a space to use your imagination.” Visit teachingcomics.org for more ideas on teaching comics to students of all ages.

If the “Teaching” panel inspired anyone to go out and make a comic, they may have missed the “Editing for Comics” panel, which brought everyone back down to reality. The talk featured Diana Shutz, former DC editor Bob Schreck, and was hosted by Jeff Parker, a writer from Marvel.

Ms. Shutz likened editors at Dark Horse to project managers: they stay on the story from inspiration to publication. She said she’s always editing for quality, and mentioned that she’d recently scrapped a the first print run of Larry Marder’s Beanworld reprint because, after 20 years out of print, and with a meticulous restoration job on the original scans, the printer had done a poor job on the printing.

Mr. Schreck mentioned some of the other tasks he’d had to do while editing for DC. One time he was having problems with an artist getting the pages in on time, and he ended up calling the artists mother to get the 8 pages of black and white drawings that were holding up production. He also talked about when Comico went under. DC had partnered with Comico, and they had original art from some creators. Schreck had to tell people they were out of a job, but he said he worked hard to retrieve their original art for the artists.

A couple secrets may have been given away in this seminar, too. Jeff Parker wondered if monthly comics will go away in the next couple of years due to costs. He theorized that they monthlies will eventually be entirely online, and the only tangible printings will be TPBs or anthologies. And Shutz told the ultimate secret: how to get into comics. She said: don’t write up a typed manuscript, or an outline. Instead, make an actual comic. If you can’t draw, partner with someone who can, it will show the editors that you can work with people. She gave a brief summary of her assistant Brendan who took her class, started a comic review website, and worked to create some comics. Now he’s working at Dark Horse.

Stumptown Comics Fest 2009 - Part 1

Stumptown Comics Fest isn't a comic book show. At a comic book show it's all about filling out a collection, and trying to pick up a reasonably cheap copy of the new issue of Dark Avengers, or whatever's hot at the moment (remember Danger Girl?). And Stumptown isn't a comic convention either. A convention is where the fans get the chance to show their adoration to the creator in person, rather than just with their dollars.

No, the Stumptown Comics Fest is more like a chance for creators to talk amongst themselves, while sharing their creative experience with the fans. It's a place where anyone who has the guts can put their own comic on display and see how's it's received by people on a face-to-face perspective. The front of the program describes the Fest as "Workshops, Creators, Awards, Contests and hundreds of other things that astound the imagination!"

I spent two days at the Fest ($10 for a weekend pass), with my kids tagging along. The headliner for the show was Bone creator Jeff Smith, which was a magnet for munchkins of all sorts. The organizers even put together a sheet detailing which talks and comics were appropriate for which ages (although they unfortunately didn't include it in the program so I didn't find it until late Sunday). So, here are my notes from the talks I attended.

The first talk I attended was the "Spotlight on Jeff Smith", moderated by the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund's Charles Brownstein. Smith has a new comic he's working on called RASL, about a guy who discovers how to slide between parallel universes and uses this to become an inter dimensional art thief. Of course the audience was there to hear about Bone, especially the younger members. Bone is Smith's 12-year magnum opus. He created, scripted and drew 55 issues (1350 pages!) of the story of Fone Bone and his cousins as they accompany a girl named Thorn on an epic quest and eventually save the world.

Smith said that he didn't draw Bone as a kid's book, but he was surprised after binding the 55 issues into a single paperback and self publishing it, it became the single most requested book at libraries by younger readers. The book is so thick that when Smith made a special hard-cover edition, the only publisher that could handle it was one that dealt with bible bindings. Scholastic heard how popular Bone was and acquired the rights to re-release Bone, publishing it in multiple countries. Smith says that in Angouleme, France, or in Mumbai, India, his comic readers are the same throughout the world. He added that thanks to Scholastic there's enough weight behind the book to have a faithful movie adaptation.

He spoke how the three cousins, Fone Bone, Phoney Bone, and Smiley Bone are archetypes also found in other stories: Harpo, Chico and Groucho; Jerry, George and Kramer; and also Mickey, Donald and Goofy. He also answered a question from my son on the tone of the book: why it started out light and then got much darker in the second half. Smith explained that he wanted to hook the reader into the story, and as Thorn matured, she had to confront darker and more "real" problems. When Smith started to write Bone he already had the plot for all 55 issues outlined on paper. Check out boneville.com for more info.

An Echo of the Sunday Papers

Image via Wikipedia

According to Newsarama DC is working to put some excitement back into the Sunday funny pages format. Except they're going to have them on Wednesdays.

The publisher today officially announced Wednesday Comics, a new 12-part weekly series launching this summer that will be presented in a 14” x 20” broadsheet format and will have to be unfolded and opened to be read. The "Wednesday" part of the title refers to the fact new comic books go on sale at comic book stores nationwide every Wednesday.

I'm looking forward to Neil Gaiman's version of Metamorpho.

Characters coming up in the pages of Wednesday Comics include: Hawkman (already linked to creator Kyle Baker art for which can be seen here), Batman, Adam Strange, Metamorpho (linked to Neil Gaiman and Mike Allred), Catwoman, Demon, Deadman, Kamandi, Superman, Sgt. Rock, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Teen Titans, Supergirl, Flash and the Metal Men . Each story will have its own full-page installment each week for the 12 issues. The stories may be standalone stories with each installment, or a 12-part serial – the choice was left up to the creators.

Unfortunately, it looks like you'll still have to go to the comic store to get these. They won't actually be included in the Wednesday paper. But, that's not all bad. As the website io9 says:

Good creators, making stand-alone stories about good characters in a format that'll allow for experimentation in the form that hasn't been seen since the days of Little Nemo In Slumberland? DC may just have made a significant grab for the comic win of the year.

Public Service Comics: Blatant Sales

Ok, final bit of Public Service comics, except these are pretty blatant advertisements. The first comics is "Taz's 40th Birthday Blowout from K-Mart," published for KMart by DC Comics, 1994. Bugs and friends take Taz to K-Mart so he can pick out his 40th birthday present.


"The Adventures of Kool-Aid Man," from Marvel Comics Group, 1983 with Kool-Aid copyright General Foods is a bit better. In this comic Kool-Aid fights the thirsties in two separate stories, plus puzzles, special offers, and how to build your own Kool-Aid stand. It says it's a 60 cent value, although I think I mailed away for this comic after drinking three packages of Kool-Aid. I was in college at the time, so it was either free or really cheap.


And finally, the "Ex-Mutants: Consumer Electronics Show Edition!" from Malibu Graphics, 1992. There's nothing about the CES in the comic, except to promote the new Ex-Mutants game on Sega Genesis

Public Service Comics: Careers

Here are some more public service or educational comics, all of which have to do with careers. Click on any picture to see it in more detail.

The 50's and 60's coincided with the Baby Boomers starting high school, and a general shift toward the future. Luckily GE came out with the comics "Science in Your Future." This is from the Adventures in Science Series, published by General Electric, 1956. There's not much of a story, but runs Jane and Johnny through a survey of modern electronics, including vacuum tubes and transistors.



Popeye had a series of comics advising young folk about possible careers. I'm not sure why they chose this fighting sailor for their guide, but there were fifteen titles in all:
Here's the full list of the King Features Career Education Series:
E1 - Health
E2 - Environmental
E3 - Communications
E4 - Transportation
E5- Construction
E6 - Consumer and Homemakin
E7 - Manufactionuring
E8 - Hospitality and Recreation
E9 - Marketing and Distribution
E10 - Business and Office
E11 - Public Service
E12 - Personal Service
E13 - Marine Science
E14 - Fine Arts and Humanities
E15 - Agri-business and Natural Resources

Here's Popeye and Communications and Media Careers (E3), copyright King Features, 1972, but printed by Charlton Press. In this comic Popeye says to Swee Pea: "In this country, we get more information than any other people on earth, See'pea, and I am going to explain to you how we get our information." In the background there are various media, such as a phone, a TV, some magazines and newspapers. None of these comics have a story, just Popeye dragging us to various workplaces and commenting on them. The section with the telephone operators is sort of quaint.



Here's another Popeye "Careers" comics: Popeye and Consumer and Homemaking Careers (E6) from King Features, 1973, also printed by Charlton Press. In this comic Popeye drives a delivery truck, works as a custodian (not "janitor"), and plays golf at a resort.

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Public Service Comics: Transportation

Here are some more Public Service comics. Click on any picture to see it in more detail.

The Wonder Book of Rubber from BF Goodrich Co, 1947. The splash page proclaims: "Wherever you live - - wherever you go -- quality rubber products are close by." This was just after WWII, and while there was a shortage of rubber due to the Japanese occupying prime rubber producing areas in Southeast Asia, a lot of work had been done on harvesting natural rubber from Brazil, and developing synthetic rubber from petrochemicals. After the war the US economy was primed for growth, and people were ready to buy cars, household goods, clothes, all of which needed... you guessed it: Rubber!



I'm not sure how I got this copy of Sprocket Man, copyright 1976 by Urban Scientific and Education Research (USER?). It's a fun comic with tips on safe cycling in an urban environment, and it still applies today! There's nothing for sale in this comic -- it's purely an educational tool on how to keep you and your bike safe in the city. PS: don't lock your bike to a tree. That'll end with the loss of both a bike and a tree!



It's the beginning of a wonderful relationship: American Honda Presents: Supergirl in cooperation with the US Department of Transportation's National Safety Belt Campaign
DC Comics, 1986. The inside cover has a special message from Elizabeth Dole, who was Secretary of the Department of Transportation at the time. Most of the story takes place in a dream, with Supergirl meeting pigs who're Road Hogs, Humpty Dumpty, and all sorts of other bizarre elements.

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Public Service Comics: Computer related

One reason I think the Public Service comics are interesting is because they blur the line between education, propaganda, and sales. For example, in the context of historical hindsight, the comics produced by GE help people learn about new technology, and might also convince some kids or adults to become scientists or technicians. But they are also used by GE to sell the idea of atomic power, and also to promote General Electric as a company that has a future, and that's a much more subtle message.

Here are some comics from computer hardware and software companies, and they're a lot more blatant. Sure, they're still trying to be entertaining, but the comic is really a showcase for the product. Click on any picture to see it in more detail.
Superman in the Computer Masters of Metropolis from DC Comics, 1982 for Radio Shack.
Superman, Wonder Woman and the TRS-80 Computer Whiz Kids tak on Lex Luthor. The cover is only the beginning. Learn how powerful transistors make the TRS-80 the most amazing thing since sliced bread. Check out the pre-Internet explanation for how to set up an "information retrieval system."



Tandy Computer Whiz Kids (A Deadly Choice Edition), produced for Radio Shack by Archie Comics, 1990.
The kids use camcorders, skateboards and computers to stop a drug dealer near the school. This issue has a confusing message, since the kids use the computer to set up a drug abuse hot line, but that's only a small portion of the story. It's mostly typical late 80's anti-drug propaganda.



SWAT: Software Warriors Against Tampering for XTree Company anti-virus software circa 1992(?).
I don't know where I got this, but it's a great example of a comic gone wrong. Sure, it catches your eye, but it's not really entertaining, and it doesn't explain the features of XTree anti-virus software, which might have been useful in 1992.