Beyond Comics cracks down on scofflaw subscribers

And who can blame them? I never let my box go longer than 2 weeks - it adds up for the store owner. From their newsletter:

Delinquent Subscription Notification

To all subscribers delinquent in picking up your subscription, we ask that you please get caught up by the end of March.

Due to the tight economic conditions we have no choice but to begin to enforce some of our rules regarding subscriptions. While we have been exceedingly lenient over the last several years, we are no longer in the position to hold comics over any extended period of time unless the entirety of the subscription is purchased at pick up. What this means is that we can no longer store comics to be purchased "eventually." To this end, we are giving our subscribers (who have not made prior arrangements) until the end of March to clear out all of the old comics or we will take one or more of the following actions; loss of subscriber benefits, removal of comics, or suspension of subscription.

This applies to specialty items as well as comics. If you have been having us hold merchandise for you please make the effort to pick it up.

If you are one of our subscribers who have already made other arrangements to pick up your comics on a different schedule, we do not anticipate any change in service.

Additional Subscription Notices
If you are not sure whether you are currently subscribing to a title you want, please let us know and we will add it.

We have been finding subscription comics returned to the shelves and would like to take this time to point out that we order many of our non-returnable comics based on subscription numbers. If you no longer want to get a comic please inform us and we will remove it from your pull list. Do be aware that changes to your sub can affect some of you subscription benefits.

Glen Weldon on upcoming comics movies

For Glen's thoughts on Iron Man 2 (brief), Green Lantern (longer) and the attractiveness of superhero costumes (longest), see Steel and Spandex: Two Oscar Night Super-Developments, Considered, National Public Radio's Monkey See blog (March 10 2010).

May 3: Dan Clowes at Politics and Prose

Dan Clowes is at Politics and Prose, May 3rd at 7 pm. The Drawn & Quarterly blog says that he's got a 2-page story in the new New Yorker using Wilson, the character from his new book, that doesn't appear in the new book, so you might want to buy that now and bring it along in May.

ComicsDC Facebook group

Ok, I started a group on the suggestion of John Judy, who also writes for ComicsDC - but I have no idea what to do w/ it. Or even how to link to it. Have at it.

Nina Paley interview done by local blogger online now

Caroline Small's interview with Nina Paley is up at tcj.com, with part 2 now up as well. Caro, as I've never called her, joined HU last month, and one can frequently find her lurking around cartoonist events in DC, although she always claims she's there for her cousin. Well, now the truth is out.

Library of Congress animation exhibit reviewed at City Paper

Library of Congress' "Molto Animato!" Exhibit Is Hardly Vivace

Posted by Mike Rhode on Mar. 10, 2010

http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/artsdesk/visual-arts/2010/03/10/library-of-congress-molto-animato-exhibit-is-hardly-vivace/#more-19988

Beyond Comics' St. Patrick's Day sale

St. Patrick's Sale
25% OFF
GREEN GRAPHIC NOVELS
If it's Green, get a discount.

(Green Lantern, Green Arrow, Hulk, etc.)
Offer Expires: March 16, 2010

Cute idea.

Polite Dissent - a blog on comics and medicine

I can't believe I haven't run across this before - Polite Dissent - a blog on comics and medicine, but no, I hadn't until Bert Hansen pointed it out today. And "Scott"'s been doing this since 2004 with 1738 posts on comics! I need to dip in more obviously, especially if I'm going to keep talking about Comics and Cancer (next at American Association for the History of Medicine, Rochester, MN, late April - be there).

Honorary ComicsDCist Von Allan interviewed

Headline's a bit harsh though - 'You suck. Stop drawing' By Bruce Deachman, The Ottawa Citizen March 7, 2010.

R.C. Harvey on the Reuben, syndication, and by extension, Cul de Sac

Bob Harvey talks about what it takes to win the National Cartoonist Society's Rueben Award, which Our Man Thompson is up for this year. Harvey gets his opinion of the strip in too - "Thompson’s quirky stylistic mannerism is a good part of his strip’s charm, which is considerable. I like his work, both art and comedy, a great deal; some say his strip is the new Calvin and Hobbes, and while it embodies an active imagination as a vital part of childhood, I wouldn’t go so far as to say Thompson is the new Watterson. Thompson’s comedy is different; ditto his take on childhood."

Bert Hansen's book on medicine and comics wins award.

My friend Bert's excellent book, Picturing Medical Progress from Pasteur to Polio (Rutgers University Press), is winning an award at the Popular Culture Association meeting - see Baruch Historian Bert Hansen Honored for Book on Medicine and Popular Culture.

We're not journalists, but we agree with this PSA

Shooting ones' self in the foot? Or, 'Go to our website for comics'

A few months ago, we took the Express to task for dropping 2/3 of its comics page. One of the editors responded with the rationale that you could read them on their website. Here's an ad from the March 4th edition, conveying the same thing, but before I clipped it, it originally was sandwiched between two paid ads -- which they ain't getting on their website, or if they are, they won't make the same amount of money. And the rationale of going to their site is still weak, since you can go directly to the syndicates or some larger papers and read dozens of strips.

Is Second Life animation?

Obviously, it's an animation of a sort, just like motion capture movies like Avatar. But is it suitable to be considered comic art and covered here? I'm not sure - I've decided that Avatar and Alice in Wonderland are not the type of animation I want to cover here.

Read this and then feel free to give me your opinion -

Second Life's virtual money can become real-life cash
By Michael S. Rosenwald
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, March 8, 2010; A01

USA Today's Truitt on First Wave

Doc Savage is back! Brian Truitt on "'First Wave' reintroduces pulp heroes to new readers," USA Today (March 3 2010)

March 13: A true comic opera

This weekend is The Metropolitan Opera's staging of Shostakovich's The Nose. And why should we care? Because it's being directed by South African fine art animator William Kentridge and carried on WETA 90.9FM at 1 pm on March 13. The NY Times reviewed it today.

Comic Riffs' Michael Cavna interviewed at Tall Tales Radio

Episode 77 – Michael Cavna, "Comic Riffs"

By Tom Racine on March 8th, 2010
http://talltalefeatures.com/2010/03/08/episode-77-michael-cavna-comic-riffs/

Thanks to Our Man Thompson for the tip - he's been on the show too.

Matt Wuerker interview up at City Paper

Meet a Local Cartoonist: A Chat with Politico's Matt Wuerker

Posted by Mike Rhode on Mar. 8, 2010

http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/artsdesk/books/2010/03/08/meet-a-local-cartoonist-a-chat-with-politicos-matt-wuerker/

PR: Sal Buscema book out

Sal Buscema was a Marvel mainstay for many years. I've got hundreds of comics he drew. He lives in Northern Virginia now, although I haven't had the luck to meet him.

 

If you enjoyed our previous books on Gene Colan and John Romita, Sr., don't miss SAL BUSCEMA: COMICS' FAST & FURIOUS ARTIST, which ships this week from TwoMorrows! And when you order directly from us, you get 15% off the retail price! (NOTE: Discount does not apply to the Ultra-Limited Hardcover sketch edition.)

In 1968, Sal Buscema joined the ranks of Marvel Comics and quickly became one of their most recognizable and dependable artists. Following in the footsteps of his big brother John Buscema, Sal quickly came into his own, and penciled some of Marvel's most memorable storylines, such as the original Avengers/Defenders war, as well as "The Secret Empire Saga" and the Nomad arc in the pages of Captain America. He also had a ten-year run on the Hulk and drew 100 consecutive issues of Spectacular Spider-Man, making him one of the few definitive artists of the Bronze Age. Sal Buscema: Comics' Fast & Furious Artist, by Alter Ego's Jim Amash with Modern Masters' Eric Nolen-Weathington, explores the life and career of this true legend of the comics industry, through an exhaustive interview with the artist, complete with extensive examples of his art, including a deluxe color section, and a
gallery of work from Sal's personal files. Fans love the fast and furious style of Sal Buscema, and this first-ever career-spanning book is guaranteed to please!  (NOTE: The deluxe hardcover contains a dust jacket, printed endpapers, and 16 extra full-color pages, not found in the softcover edition!)

The $26.95 SOFTCOVER can be ordered HERE at 15% off:
http://twomorrows.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=793

The standard $46.95 HARDCOVER can be ordered HERE at 15% off:
http://twomorrows.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=794

The $100 ULTRA-LIMITED HARDCOVER (which includes an individually numbered PENCIL SKETCH of one of Sal's favorite characters) can be ordered HERE:
http://twomorrows.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=106&products_id=838


Or just go to www.twomorrows.com where you'll find them listed on the home page for ordering. And as always, thanks for supporting TwoMorrows!

Best regards,
John Morrow, publisher
TwoMorrows
10407 Bedfordtown Dr.
Raleigh, NC 27614
919-449-0344
fax 919-449-0327
www.twomorrows.com

Cavna on animation Oscars race

Animation station: A race to the finish for these features
By Michael Cavna
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, March 7, 2010; E06