Friday, January 18, 2013

A reminder that Feb. 15, 2013 is the deadline for receipt of applications for the Swann Foundation Fellowship, one of the few that supports scholarly graduate research in caricature and cartoon. For criteria, guidelines, and application forms, please see:

http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/swann/swann-fellow.html

Please email swann@loc.gov or call (202) 707-9115 if you have questions. We appreciate the opportunity to post this notice. Apologies for cross listing.

Thank you!

Martha Kennedy

Whats new at Game On Comics this week

Some nice "inside comics" information about sales figures included in here.

Game On! Comics Weekly Digest	Come Visit Us! January 15th, 2013

In this issue

:: New Titles this Week

:: Game Nights

Dear Mike,

Welcome to Game On! Comics

All Back Issues only $2 for the entire month of January!!

Spidey tops 1.6 million!

Marvel sold over $1.6 million retail worth ofAmazing Spider-Man #700 to comic stores in December, the top dollar comic in recent memory. Sell-in of over 200,000 copies was supported by an extensive variant program, including numerous "exceed orders," 1:200, and 1:700 variants, and at a $7.99 retail price, the dollars piled up fast. Extensive publicity about the storyline helped make this a major event book. The lead-in book, #699, appears to have unfilled demand; #698 sold more than #699 (both #698 and #699 have second printings already released).
Marvel also had a big hit with Avengers #1 at over 186,000 copies, but the scale of the dollars wasn't even close, with less than half the dollars of the #1 book.

The books in DC's "Death of a Family" event were up and down:Batman, for example, was down around 5%, but all of the tie-in titles saw some pretty substantial bumps-- Detective Comics #15 (+31,835), Batman and Robin (+14,335), Batgirl #15 (+2127),Nightwing #15 (+23,687), Teen Titans #15 (+28,962), and Red Hood and the Outlaws #15 (+26,393). Also of note, DC's Justice League (Part 1 of the "Throne of Atlantis" storyline crossing over with Aquaman) saw an uptick of 2% while Aquaman #15 saw orders increase over 30%.

The Walking Dead Vol. 1 mustered nearly 10,000 sales out of the direct market in December, with gifts of the first volume a great sign for the future of the franchise.

Don't forget to sign up for a free Comixology account!

Game On! Comics is now working with Comixology! What does this mean for you?

You can manage your subscription list online. You can add or delete comics from your Game On! subscription list either at Comixology or by simply sending us an email.
Our store will get credit any time you buy digital comics online

How do you sign up? It's free and easy.

Click here to create your account and create your sub list:

Create your Pull List

First create an account, then click on the Store Locator, type in our zip code 22180, and choose Game On! Comics as "your store".

How to sign up for the store to get credit for digital comic purchases? Simply buy comics from our digital Comixology store front page: Game On! Comics digital Store Front

Game On! Comics Loyalty Members:

Please remember that while we will hold comics for you every week and give you the discounts/perks, we do ask that you pick up your comics at least once per month. Please help us out by coming in at least once per month or by communicating with us about any delays Thanks!!

New Comic Book titles this week 1-15-13

Best Discounts in the area--Not just a slogan, we really do have the best price discounts when you become a Game On! Comics Loyalty Member! Details here: Loyalty Membership

Savage Wolverine #1

A MUST READ THIS WEEK!

All New X-Men #6

Ame Comi Girls (Featuring Power Girl) #4

Archer & Armstrong #6

Avengers Assemble #11

Avenging Spider-Man #16

Batgirl #16

Batman #16

Batman And Robin #16

Batman: Arkham Unhinged #10

Billy Kids Oddities & Orm Loch Ness #4 (L)

Bionic Man (Kevin Smith) #15

Bionic Man Vs Bionic Woman #1

Black Beetle: No Way Out #1

Black Kiss II #6 (L)

Bloodshot #7

Caligula Heart Of Rome #2

Captain America #3

Captain Marvel #9

Comeback #3

Conan The Barbarian #12

Creator Owned Heroes #8

Crossed Badlands #21

Crow: Skinning The Wolves #2

Daredevil #22

Dark Avengers #185

Dark Shadows #12

Deathstroke #16

Demon Knights #16

Elephantmen #45

Ex Sanguine #4

Executive Assistant Assassins #7

Fashion Beast #5

Ferals #12

Fly Vol II #4

Frankenstein: Agent Of Shade #16 (L)

Freelancers #3

G.I. Joe Vol 2 #21

Garth Ennis Jennifer Blood #21 (Mr)

Green Hornet: Year One Special #1

Grifter #16 (L)

Grimm Fairy Tales #81

High Ways #1

Indestructible Hulk #3

Insurgent #1

Legion Lost #16 (L)

Li'l Depressed Boy #15

Lord Of The Jungle #11

Mars Attacks Real Ghostbusters 1-Shot

New Avengers #2

Pathfinder #4

Peter Cannon Thunderbolt #5

Punisher Nightmare #3

Ravagers #8

Saga #7 2nd Ptg

Saga #9

Savage Wolverine #1

Stitched #11

Suicide Squad #16

Superboy #16

Team 7 #4

Thor (Marvel Movie) Adaptation #1

Threshold #1

Todd, The Ugliest Kid On Earth #1

Ultimate Comics Iron Man #4 (L)

Venom #30

Warlord Of Mars: Dejah Thoris #21

Wolverine Max #3

X-Factor #250

X-Men #40

ALL AGES COMICS AND MAGAZINES

Green Lantern The Animated Series #10

Marvel Super Heroes Magazine #6

Simpsons Comics #198

COLLECTIONS AND GRAPHIC NOVELS

Captain America By Brubaker HC Vol 4

Fables TP Vol 18: Cubs In Toyland

Game Nights

Sunday Nights, 5pm-9pm

D and D

Wednesday Nights 7-11pm

Magic the Gathering

Casual Play and booster Draft.

Sunday Afternoons, 12:30pm

kaijudo logo

Come check out Kaijudo on its new day, Sundays!!

Brand new card based game by the makers of Magic the Gathering. Geared to be a little easier than MTG. Want to try it out? Come on Sundays, weekly demos.

Friday Night, 7pm

Booster Draft Tournament--$15

Return to Ravnica!

Win promo cards and boosters from Ravnica!

Saturdays 4-7pm

Heroclix--Batman
Batman Heroclix set

Heroclix at Game On! Comics Saturday, January 19th, at 4 p,m, Gang Warfare! Build a 500 point Modern Age force with representation from the Batman and/or Streets of Gotham sets, bring your best Mastermind/Minions team (Batman and Batman Family, Joker and Joker Henchmen, et al). No Colossals, no Feats or BFC's; Vehicles are okay, special objects are okay including the Infinity Gauntlet and Utility Belt.

Each week adds cumulative points for another territory, Join your Gang and compete to claim it!
Lord of the Rings/Hobbit, Gears of War, and HALO figures can be used for this event but without the special rules that accompany them. Prize support from other venues which has not been given out yet at Game On! Comics is not eligible for play. For our venue, Modern Age is defined as anything from the Secret Invasion set forwards unless otherwise specified. Using Unicorns, Polar Bears, or Dinosaurs as objects is not required but is encouraged.

Prizes for 1st, 2nd, and Fellowship!

Congrats to last weeks winners:

1st: Mike H.

2nd: Francisco and Alex A.

Fellowship: George

Batman Gang won the day!! Yeah!!

Comic Review

Black Beetle #1

black beetle

The Black Beetle is a comic book character created by Eisner Award-winning artist Francesco Francavilla. The character has been appearing on Francavilla's blog and in the anthology series,Dark Horse Presents. The Black Beetle has more than a passing resemblance to DC Comics' Batman because they share conceptual DNA.

The Black Beetle blends the aesthetics of pulp fiction, mystery, noir, and the superhero. The character is not only part superhero, but he is also a costumed vigilante and weird detective in the vein of such classic pulp heroes as The Shadow and The Spider, with some of Zorro and Sherlock Holmes thrown into the mix. Black Beetle is a super-heroic sleuth, and his base of operation isColt City, a classic pulp and noir-type urban landscape. Black Beetle debuts in his own comic book series, entitled The Black Beetle.

As The Black Beetle #1 begins, the Black Beetle is about to make himself an uninvited guest in a meeting of two crime families, the Galazzos and the Fierros. In this summit, which will determine the future of Colt City's criminal empire, Black Beetle sees an opportunity to take out two major crime bosses, Don Pasquale Galazzo and Joe Fierro. When the hero makes his move at Spencer's, the neutral sight where this crime conference is being held, he discovers that he is not the only hunter.

The Black Beetle: No Way Out #1 is clean comic book storytelling. This is classic, two-fisted, masked-man comic book action. It's gritty and pure, lacking in pretension or the goal to be the soap opera version of character drama that most superhero comic books offer. This is the kind of pulpy mayhem that first made me fall in love with comic books.

I don't think that I can adequately describe just how gorgeous Francesco Francavilla's art is. Some of the pages use a standard comic book page layout, but most of them are more imaginative and inventive. Some pages resemble movie posters and movie theatre lobby cards; others are similar to narrative paintings. Some pages are designed as splash pages, but with details and assorted art embedded on them.

The Black Beetle is pure pop comics. Between the new Stars Wars series and The Black Beetle, Dark Horse Comics is doing their own version of Marvel NOW and The New 52. Dark Horse is just doing a better job of making classic seem so fresh.

$3.99

Review by Leroy Douresseaux

Thank you so much for your support of our new comic and game shop. We look forward to taking care of all of your comic and game needs.

Don't forget to go on yelp.com and write a review about us too!!

Please tell your comic/game friends about our shop, we would appreciate their business.

Please visit our Facebook page and "Like" us!!

Please tell your friends about us, we would love their business!

Dave, J.R., and Louis
Game On! Comics

www.GameOnComics.com

703-242-3838

info@gameoncomics.com

Off

Lots of discounts in our new SALE SECTION!!

Can not be used in conjuction with any other discount.

Offer Expires: 08/09/12

Game On! Comics | 310 Dominion Rd. NE | Vienna | VA | 22180

Another Brad Meltzer interview on mysterious medical museums

Brad Meltzer Hunts "The Fifth Assassin"
Kiel Phegley,
Comic Book Resources January 15 2013
http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=43191

Brad Meltzer's new book

Brad Meltzer wrote Justice League and Green Arrow and is glad to sign them both. He'll be at Politics and Prose on Jan. 16th and Mclean's Barnes & Noble on the 17th. Here's an article about his new book (and some of you may know the "government employee" who's not the President):

Brad Meltzer's new thriller gets Oval Office insight

Mon, Jan 14 2013

By Kurt Anthony Krug

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/14/entertainment-us-books-bradmeltzer-idUSBRE90D15P20130114

and some straight PR from: Brad Meltzer's wife

Here we are: the big day when Brad's new novel, The Fifth Assassin, is finally out. It's a thriller about a serial killer who's meticulously recreating the crimes of all the Presidential assassins, from John Wilkes Booth to Lee Harvey Oswald. And yes, as always, it's filled with obscure and amazing real details from history (you know Brad's obsessive about that).

To buy The Fifth Assassin, you can go here:
http://bradmeltzer.com/book/the-fifth-assassin/buy-the-fifth-assassin/

To see if Brad will be coming to you on book tour (and yes, this time he has decoder rings with him. I mean it.) go here:
http://bradmeltzer.com/appearances/

Otherwise, for those in the NY area tonight, Brad (with the help of John Hodgman) is trying to break the Guinness Book World Record for "most decoder rings in one place," so please bring friends. :-)

This has been a wild roller coaster of a year for Brad (up and down), so if you go see him on tour, give him a hug from here.

Thank you so much for all you've done for us -- personally and professionally. For those who really know Brad, he never forgets it.

Always,

- Cori

Monday, January 14, 2013

Donkeys and Elephants: A Celebration of American Political Cartoons exhibit is open

Donkeys and Elephants: A Celebration of American Political Cartoons

January 4 - January 26, 2013

Studio Gallery Hours:
Wednesday - Friday, 1 - 7pm
Saturday, 1 - 6pm

Directions To The Gallery

2108 R Street N.W. Washington, DC 20008 | info@studiogallerydc.com | 202.232.8734

Jan 29: WETA shows Pioneers of Television: Superheroes

Pioneers of Television

Starting tomorrow night, tune into WETA Television for new episodes of Pioneers of Television, the Emmy-nominated series that reveals intriguing behind-the-scenes stories and fascinating facts about your favorite old television shows.

Each episode melds new interviews with iconic clips and never-before-seen photos to offer an insider's look at television's biggest celebrities. Ryan Seacrest hosts the new programs. This week's installment, Funny Ladies, spotlights the first standup comediennes and the sitcom stars that followed. Future episodes include Primetime Soaps (January 22), Superheroes (January 29) and Miniseries (February 5). Don't miss these great programs!

Pioneers of Television airs Tuesdays, January 15 - February 5 at 8:00pm on WETA Television.

Comic Riffs features Google computer animator

New Doodle4Google student contest announced: Team artist Mike Dutton spotlights the vital role of teachers
By Michael Cavna
Washington Post Comic Riffs blog January 14 2013
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/comic-riffs/post/new-doodle4google-student-contest-announced-team-artist-mike-dutton-spotlights-the-vital-role-of-teachers/2013/01/14/cee8242a-5e7b-11e2-90a0-73c8343c6d61_blog.html#pagebreak

Kal's Kickstarter is officially Kicking!

The New Kal Kickstarter campaign has just launched. You can find a link here:

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/328741204/retrospective-collection-of-kal-cartoons-from-the?ref=email

Fans and supporters can pre-order copies of the book, buy prints of cartoons and covers from the magazine, plus purchase one of a kind original cartoons and covers. Plus there are special rewards for those who want to join the KAL team including a book launch party at Boordy Vineyards in April.

Any support the local cartoon community can offer would be great. But perhaps the best thing supporters can do to help is spread the word. Forward the link (above) to all their contacts, friends and colleagues. The more money we raise the better quality the book will be.

Thanks very much for hearing me out!

Best

Kal

Kevin Kallaugher

daggersdrawnbykal@gmail.com

Join Kal's Kickstarter campaign!

Daggers Drawn: 35 Years of KAL Cartoons in The Economist

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/328741204/retrospective-collection-of-kal-cartoons-from-the

Sunday, January 13, 2013

2011 Chris Flick interview

I just ran across this...

Chris Flick: It's Capes & Babes time!
by David Hurley
September 15, 2011
http://www.dontpicktheflowers.com/blog/?p=2042

That darn Beetle Bailey

Letter to the Editor: Nothing funny in 'Beetle Bailey'
Lee Ann Candon, Edgewater
Washington Post January 12 2013
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/nothing-funny-in-beetle-bailey/2013/01/11/42eac4a6-59b1-11e2-b8b2-0d18a64c8dfa_story.html

Friday, January 11, 2013

'Barefoot Gen' obituary in The Post

As far as I can tell, this hasn't appeared in print yet:

Keiji Nakazawa, comic book artist who cast unflinching eye on Hiroshima bomb, dies
By Terence McArdle,
Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/keiji-nakazawa-comic-book-artist-who-cast-unflinching-eye-on-hiroshima-bomb-dies/2013/01/10/9fa6faa0-5a85-11e2-9fa9-5fbdc9530eb9_story.html

Ben Claassen wants to draw your New Year's Resolution

Ben Claassen wants to draw your New Year's Resolution. He says, "Send me your New Year's Resolution! I will illustrate it & will send you the original art!" See the bottom of the cartoon for more details.

Thursday, January 10, 2013

Comic Riffs on animation nominations

2013 OSCARS NOMINATIONS: Brenda Chapman, Pixar's first woman director, 'overwhelmed and humbled' by 'bittersweet' nod for 'Brave'
By Michael Cavna
Washington Post Comic Riffs blog January 10 2013

Local collector Mark Zaid picks up another job

Certified Guaranty Company (CGC®) Hires Mark S. Zaid, Esq.

SARASOTA, Florida (January 9, 2013) - The Certified Guaranty Company® (CGC®), an independent member of the Certified Collectibles Group (CCG®) of companies, has hired Mark S. Zaid, P.C. as a consultant and outside counsel.

Mark will be auditing and analyzing various aspects of CGC's and CCG's operations, particularly in order to help shape the integration of CCG's newest member company, Classics Incorporated, the world's premier comic book restoration removal and pressing company. In the near future, Classics Incorporated will be renamed Classic Collectibles Services. One of Mark's tasks will be to ensure that the integration of a pressing service with a grading business will not impact the professionalism and ethics of CGC's process. "By retaining Mark as both counsel and consumer advocate, CGC is being proactive in striving to give our customers both a voice within CGC and ensure industry best practices. In turn, this move will make CGC a better, stronger company," comments Steve Eichenbaum, CCG CEO. "As always, CGC is dedicated to support and do what's best for the hobby," added Steve.

Mark is a well-known Washington, D.C. national security attorney and the owner of EsquireComics.com. He is very involved in the vintage side of comic collecting, has been an Advisor to the Overstreet Comic Book Grading and Price Guides since 2006 and was co-founder of the Comic Book Collecting Association, www.comiccollecting.org, of which Steve Eichenbaum serves on the Board of Advisors. Mark also lectures internationally on the history and social aspects of comic books.

Mark stated, "I am very pleased to have been asked to play this role for CGC and help ensure the company maintains the highest level of integrity, professionalism and ethics. There is no doubt that the stronger CGC is the better it is for the comic book community. The two are now inseparable." In order to avoid any conflict of interest, Mark's CGC Member Dealer account will be frozen during the time Mark is under contract with CGC, and he will forgo submitting any books for grading other than through third-party anonymity. Individuals can contact Mark with any concerns regarding ethics, conflicts of interest or perception of improprieties involving CGC at Mark@MarkZaid.com.

Friday, January 18, 2013

PR: Kal Kickstarter gets #1 billing

Donkeys & Elephants exhibit reviewed

Reviewed: "Donkeys & Elephants" at Studio Gallery

Presidential caricatures cover today's Express

Thursday, January 17, 2013

Jan 19 First-Term Retrospective Editorial Cartoon Exhibit

FIRST-TERM RETROSPECTIVE: 3rd Annual Cartoonist Exhibit

Art Soiree

Saturday, January 19, 2013 at 8:00 PM - Sunday, January 20, 2013 at 2:00 AM (EST)

Washington, DC

Archer and Bob's Burgers animation tv shows cross-over tonight

Wednesday, January 16, 2013

The Post interviews Brad Meltzer

Tuesday, January 15, 2013

Library of Congress Swann Fellowship applications due Feb. 15