Looking at the Eisners: Nominees for Best Short Story

The 2011 Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards released their nominees for excellence in comic books for the previous year last Friday. A panel of 6 judges made up of professionals throughout the industry selected the nominees. People throughout the industry will now begin voting on the nominees. Winners will be announced at the award show put on at this summer’s huge Comic-Con International convention in San Diego. The Eisners are basically the comic book equivalent of the film industry’s Academy Awards, TV’s Emmy Awards, music’s Grammy Awards, and theater’s Tony Awards, so it deserves a closer look.

Over the coming weeks, I’ll be breaking down the nominees in each category, providing context and background info, and I’ll also give you a link to Amazon and other sites so you can buy your own copy, if possible. I can’t read everything, so lots of this stuff passed by me or is on my way-too-high to-read pile, so I’m going to avoid saying what “should” win. (I’m also pretty bad at predicting award show winners, so I’m not going to bother embarrassing myself.) Please feel free to post your predictions, preferences, opinions, or questions.

Today we’re taking a look at the nominees for the Best Short Story category, kind of the equivalent of the Oscar for Best Short Film.

Best Short Story

Take a closer look with the click through: (more…)

This Friday is brought to you by Banana Battling Kitteh

Sort of a sequel to this.

Things to do tomorrow in LA:

Mini-Comics Day at The Comic Bug in Hermosa Beach, Saturday 12 noon – 7 PM.

The 45 Show opening reception, an art gallery show of work using cover art of vinyl records, co-curated by my friend Robert Rodriguez of Wanted Records, at the Twenty Miles East Gallery in Pomona, Saturday 5 PM – 9 PM. Gallery is open through April 9.

Family-friendly improv comedy show with the Magic Meathands (and me!) and Jump Start at The Spot in Culver City, Saturday 8 PM.

Release Party for Undying Love by Tomm Coker and Daniel Freedman at Secret Headquarters in Silver Lake, Saturday night.

(Video via I Can Has Cheezburger.)

Parents: Get your Kid-Friendly Comics on iPhone and iPad

So maybe you get it by now. Librarians, teachers, and other smart people that you trust tell you that comics are a great way to develop and strengthen your child’s reading skills. They also capture their imagination and work visual recognition skills and they do tons of other good things for the brain, in addition to being fun and entertaining. But maybe you’ve also heard that there are some comics that aren’t really appropriate for everyone. So what’s safe? If you’ve got an iPhone or iPad, now there’s a simple way to get great comics for your kids and teens.

Digital comics provider comiXology officially launched their newest app, Comics4Kids, yesterday. And it’s exactly what it sounds like. Almost 175 comic books from 15 comic book publishers like Archie Comics, Image Comics, Dynamite Entertainment, Red 5 Comics, NBM Publishing, and more. I’m sure more will be added every week just like comiXology’s other apps. And hopefully Marvel, DC, Dark Horse, IDW, Boom! Studios, along with other publishers, will join in since they all have comic books that would fit right in.

One of my initial thoughts was similar to JK Parkin: will kids want to read something that’s so blatantly targeted to them? Most kids want to get the real thing, not the kiddie version, and one red flag is something with “kids” in the title. But seeing this targeted to parents as something they can feel comfortable handing to their children, the branding makes more sense. Time will tell, I guess. I certainly appreciate the effort, and I’m sure parents will too.

For more information, read click through for their press release: (more…)

Mini-Comics Day this Saturday

The first annual Mini-Comics Day is happening all day this Saturday, April 9, 2011. What happens on Mini-Comics Day? Why, tons of creativity of course!

April 9th, 2011 is the date for the first annual Mini-Comics Day, celebrating the art of cartooning and creating hand-made comic books.

On Mini-Comics Day, participating cartoonists from around the world will write, draw, and print copies of a mini-comic, completing the entire process from start to finish in a day or less. Anyone in the world can participate.

Mini-comics have been democratizing the art of making comic books since the 70′s or earlier… with the popularization of photocopiers, it became apparent that anyone with an inclination and some spare change could print a little comic book. Wildly varying in both form and content, mini-comics are a wonderful synthesis of cartooning and hand-made art objects.

The Comic Bug in Hermosa Beach will be hosting space for people to get together and create mini-comics from noon to 7 PM. Email info@thecomicbug.com to reserve your spot. Or if you’re not in the area, here is a complete list of participating stores and events.

No artistic ability or experience necessary. Just a willingness to try. See Caption.org for a quick tutorial on how to make a mini-comic.

Fun & Laughs for the Whole Family

This Saturday you can see live comedy made-up entirely on the spot at The Spot. Fully improvised comedy will be performed by the Magic Meathands (with me!) and the South Bay troupe Jump Start.

Come out and enjoy some food and funnies!

The show starts at 8 PM but the place fills up fast, so try to get there as early as you can. Tickets are only $7 for the whole night.

More details here on Facebook (you shouldn’t need an account to view the page).

Interview: Ben Dickow of Spectacular Superhero Variety Hour

Spectacular Superhero Variety Hour

I had the pleasure of speaking with Ben Dickow, director of the Captured Aural Phantasy Theater, about their new show the Spectacular Superhero Variety Hour performing for 2 Fridays at the Bootleg Theater, April 15 and April 22. The show uses vintage comic books to create a vaudeville-style show performed like old radio plays. They have used all kinds of comic books in the past, such as horror, romance, and war comics. This is their first time taking on superheroes.

Here is the audio of our interview:

MP3 Download

More about the Secret Origin of Captured Aural Phantasy Theater, written by Ben Dickow:

The origin story of Captured Aural Phantasy Theater begins decades ago, when my friend Ben Ziola started performing his comic book stories for his family when he was a kid. He quickly roped in his friend Wes Bailey and the two would perform stories at parties for friends. They both moved to Chicago in the late 70’s and collected my friend Billy Bullion and then me over the years. I began producing the show in 1999 with all of us on stage in the finest dive bars around Chicago. The show moved with me to LA and has evolved a lot since the early days,  going strong with a fabulous company of performers ever since. However, both Ben Z. and Billy, who remain in Chicago, have come out to be in a few “special” shows in LA.

CAPT can also be found on Facebook, Twitter and MySpace.

Ben’s favorite Southern California comic book stores for finding those rare comics from the 1940s, ’50s and ’60s:

This Friday is brought to you by Comics Business Kitteh

After the Comics Creator Throwdown between Marvel VP Tom Brevoort and legendary cartoonist Scott Shaw! yesterday, I think we could all use a chalk drawing of Business Cat loving comics to cleanse the palette.

I must know where this is in the real world. And I must go to it.

Sure he messed up the usage of lie/lay, but he’s wearing a tie!

(Via I Can Has Cheezburger, via 9Gag.com)

Don’t forget… show tonight in Santa Monica! More details on Facebook.

Honoring Comic Book Creators #whiletheylive

Tom Brevoort removes his hat to pay tribute

Following the sudden death of writer Dwayne McDuffie last month, Marvel Comics Senior Vice President of Publishing Tom Brevoort has begun a touching weekly ritual on Twitter. Every Wednesday afternoon, he selects a member of the comics creative community to honor while they are still alive to enjoy the praise. Using the hashtag #whiletheylive, Brevoort encourages everyone on Twitter to join in the tribute by sharing personal memories of the creator and their work.

“The idea, quite simply, is rather than waiting for a member of our community to keel over before we say nice things, we instead do it while they’re still alive, and can appreciate the outpouring of love,” Brevoort tweeted last month to kick off the first #whiletheylive Wednesday.

That first week focused on artist Gene Colan, who worked on Iron Man, Captain America and other classic Marvel comics of the 1960s. Colan has had health problems but continues to work to this day. Yesterday’s #whiletheylive recipient was writer/editor Jim Shooter, who was editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics from 1978 to 1987, and later editor-in-chief and creative architect of the fondly remembered (and recently resurrected) Valiant Comics. Others are artist Neal Adams (known for visually stunning runs on comics such as DC Comics‘ Batman in the 1970s), John Byrne (writer/artist known for historic runs on The Uncanny X-Men, The Man of Steel and others), writer/editor Denny O’Neil (known for his trendsetting work on Batman, Green Lantern/Green Arrow and other DC Comics), and artist Russ Heath (known for the Playboy comic strip Little Annie Fanny and countless war comics for DC Comics in the 1950s).

You don’t often see an outpouring of support and community like this in other industries, especially when there isn’t some kind of marketing push or uncontrollable event (like a death) behind it. All too often we take for granted the treasures that are still with us, and it’s about time we let them know how much they mean to us. It’s a wonderful gesture that I hope Brevoort and others continue. I also think it’s a wonderful ongoing tribute to Dwayne McDuffie, who didn’t get nearly enough credit and praise for his contributions to the industry while he was alive.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid – comics or not?

Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney

Here at CoreyBlake.com, we like to give you truly cutting edge coverage of the comic book and graphic novel world. That’s why almost exactly four years after its release, we’re taking a look at Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney, published by Abrams’ Amulet Books.

OK, maybe this isn’t the CNN of comics, but where there may be a lack in timeliness, I hope quality and analysis picks up the slack. (Side note: follow me on Twitter, and you’ll see me comment on, tweet and retweet comics-related stories I think are worth a closer look, so there’s your fancy CNN breaking news coverage! Sorta.)

So yes, the first book in the series was released on April 1, 2007, and eventually topped the New York Times Best-Seller List. All subsequent books have done the same. Much like the Harry Potter books, each release has become a bigger and bigger deal. And two movies adapting the first two books have done very well. In fact, the second one was released just last weekend and dominated theaters. It was around then that I thought maybe it’s past time I check this out to see the big deal. I’m also considering buying a TV set.

Having read the first book, I’m not breaking the internet by saying that it’s a very enjoyable read. It’s fun and funny. It’s a light read, a quick read, and it’s very easy to get sucked into the pages. Jeff Kinney writes with an authentic voice for the main character, a middle school kid named Greg Heffley, and he has a charming cartooning style to match. It’s real easy to see why this became a big hit.

So now the big question: Is it comics?

My answer: Sometimes.

To qualify as comics, and not simply an illustrated children’s book, there needs to be a sequence of images with or without words. In the case of most illustrated children’s books, the cartoons or illustrations merely echo what is being said in the prose. They may add aesthetic information, but they are not a sequential moment in the story all their own. Sometimes this is the case with Diary of a Wimpy Kid, but just as often, the cartoon drawing is the punchline to a joke or is a story beat of the story or adds details and information to the story that isn’t revealed in the prose text. And as is the case of the snowman scene (below), there is a series of drawings that sequentially tell the story at the same time the prose is doing the same, yet they aren’t completely redundant to each other. Both words and images are playing off of each other and forwarding the story with new information. In a sense, the blocks of text themselves become a part of the sequential storytelling of the images, almost like a comics panel. And I think in those moments, Diary of a Wimpy Kid is very much sequential art, or comic books (or graphic novels, if you prefer).

Part of the snowman scene (from BarnesandNoble.com - click to buy)

I believe there’s actually a level of formalistic innovation involved in those scenes. It’s not the first or only to try this hybrid form of prose and comics. In 2006, J.M. DeMatteis and Mike Ploog released a short-lived series of books called Abadazad through Disney’s Hyperion Books. They were an adaptation of their earlier comic book series of the same name which sadly ended prematurely due to the bankruptcy of its comics publisher CrossGen Comics. Disney bought the company up at an auction because of their interest in Abadazad. Unfortunately the experiment didn’t work out or the marketing efforts fizzled or both, and the series of books ended early. Of course, Diary of a Wimpy Kid first appeared online in 2004 (slightly different from the published version), so it’s possible Hyperion and/or DeMatteis and Ploog were influenced by that in their attempts with Abadazad. Either way, the execution wasn’t quite the same. Abadazad more often than not switched from full comics pages to full prose pages. There were occasional illustrated pages to accompany the prose, like a children’s book. This back and forth might’ve been what kept the books from taking off. With Diary of a Wimpy Kid, the integration is visually consistent throughout with only the increased frequency of cartoons causing the sequential effect I describe above.

So what do you think? Is Diary of a Wimpy Kid comics? An illustrated children’s book? Something else?

(As a side note, I was kind of astonished to learn that Jeff Kinney apparently still has a full-time job outside of handling the growing Diary of a Wimpy Kid empire. Considering the stellar sales these books have had and continue to have, and the big success of two feature film adaptations from Hollywood, I have to assume that he chooses to work because he loves it, and he’s not somehow trapped in some terribly restrictive contract where he’s only seeing a fraction of the profits he’s due. Anyone know more?)

Laugh on April Fools’ Day

The Magic Meathands (with me!) are putting on a live improv comedy show this Friday, April Fools’ Day, at the Westside Comedy Theater in Santa Monica at 8 PM. Don’t worry, you won’t be the fool. We’ll be more than foolish enough for everyone.

Immediately following us is the always hilarious Waterbrains and then the world famous Mission IMPROVable.

All three improv groups for the whole night will cost you only $10.

See you there!