120 Days of Simon Preview
Top Shelf's Swedish Invasion of comics is beginning. Check out the wildly funny 120 Days of Simon here!
Action #1 Sells for $1.5 Million
Action Comics #1 and Detective Comics #27 (the first appearances of Superman and Batman, respectively) have been in the news a lot the past few months. Both are rare comics, with only a relative handful still in existence and even fewer in close to pristine quality. And both have sold at auction for record prices. Last month, a copy of Action sold for $1 million. But an even better looking copy of the issue has just gone for $1.5 million on the auction site comicconnect.com. It goes without saying that it's a record.
-- John HoganRest in Peace, Dick Giordano
I was sitting in a beautiful hotel conference room when I heard the news that comics legend Dick Giordano had passed away today at the age of 77. Dick was a wonderful artist, creator, and leader at DC Comics and elsewhere throughout the industry, and he was, by all accounts, a truly gracious and wonderful man. I’m in San Diego taking part in the Eisner Award judging process, along with some really amazing comics fans.
Wimpy Kid Review
Carol’s a huge fan of the Wimpy Kid books, so I was hoping she and I would both be able to attend the special preview of the movie held last Thursday night in Times Square in New York. Unfortunately, she’s traveling to the West Coast on business, so I was on my own for the movie. It might have been a good thing, because I ended up enjoying myself immensely and laughing hysterically.
-- John HoganStan Lee Helps Launch Rock'n Comic-Con
Stan "The Man" Lee (the guy responsible for, well, more than I could possibly list here) will be the guest of honor at the first-ever Los Angeles Rock'n Comic-Con, to be held May 28-30 at the Pasadena Convention Center. Jim Steranko will join Stan for a tribute panel dedicated to Marvel's 70th anniversary.
Thursday Is the Day
Planning to go to San Diego Comic-Con this year? Remember that Thursday is the day when hotels open for registration for the event. You can book your hotel through Comic-Con's official site.
-- John HoganGet a Preview of Trickster
Trickster is a first-of-its-kind graphic novel. Trickster is an anthology of stories based on Native American lore, all edited by illustrator Matt Dembicki.
Help Andrew Farago Get a Haircut!
Andrew Farago, the curator of the Cartoon Art Museum, is undertaking an interesting and totally worthwhile endeavour. If the museum can raise $5,000 before April 2, Andrew's going to shave Batman's symbol into his head at WonderCon.
-- John HoganNeil Gaiman on CBS Sunday Morning
In an Oscar-themed episode, CBS Sunday Morning interviewed Neil Gaiman today in recognition of the movie based on his work Coraline. It's one of my favorite movies of last year, a delightfully spooky (and NOT kid-centered, which is incredibly refreshing) film about a frustrated girl who tires of her parents' not paying attention to her and finds an "Other Mother" waiting for her in a different universe. It was the traditional "gee-whiz" kind of interview (Neil Gaiman has dolls in his house! And some of them move!
-- John HoganGNR Sponsors "New York, the Super City"
Our good friend Peter Gutierrez, writer and reviewer and graphic novel columnist, is putting on a great new panel this coming Tuesday, March 9, for the New York Center for Independent Publishing. The panel, "New York, the Super City," will focus on how New York City inspired some of the greatest comics writers and artists in their efforts to create some of the best comics characters of all time. That includes Batman's hometown of Gotham City, Superman's Metropolis, Will Eisner's take on The Spirit, the web-swinging adventures of Spider-Man.
-- John Hogan
