The 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 HoganComics in (and on) The New Yorker
When the latest issue of The New Yorker (dated February 15 & 22) arrived in the mailbox, I thought the cover artistry looked a little familiar. Turns out it has a nice tie to the comics world: It's by graphic novelist Dan Clowes. This issue commemorates the magazine's 85th anniversary, and Clowes' work was one of the four winners chosen from this year's anniversary-cover contest. But that's not all.
An Award for James Sturm's Adventure
Just got news that James Sturm's Adventures in Cartooning has won the 2010 Gryphon Award, awarded to outstanding books written for kids in kindergarten through fourth grade and administered by the Center for Children's Books. We're big fans of Sturm's work, and he very much deserves this recognition. Congratulations, James!
-- John Hogan
