Here it is your weekly round up of some stories you may have missed from the world of indie comics this week. From Captain Canuck to Dark Horse’s Eisner nominations. As always we have you covered
IDW Publishing Names John Barber as Editor-in-Chief
IDW Publishing announced today that John Barber has been named the company’s new Editor-in-Chief, and Anita Frazier joins as Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing. These additions bring unequaled experience in developing and managing global entertainment brands to IDW.
“We’re thrilled to bring John back into the fold in this crucial role,” says Greg Goldstein, President and Publisher of IDW. “His innovative concepts, energy, and scope of vision make him the perfect choice to lead our amazing editorial team into the future. He is by far one of the most well-respected editors in our industry.”
Barber, previously group editor at IDW, had spent the last two years bolstering his talents as a writer in comics, films, and other media.
“IDW has been at the forefront of pop culture for coming up on twenty years,” says John Barber. “IDW grew from four guys with a dream into a company with comics, games, TV shows, and digital content, you name it. The company has always evolved with the times — I was a part of that evolution for many years already, and I’m excited to help lead the company into its next phase.”
Barber started as a small-press creator in the late 1990s, entering into the arena of web comics before joining Marvel Comics’ editorial team. At Marvel, Barber worked on the Ultimate line of comics, Stephen King’s The Dark Tower, Marvel Zombies, and many other projects including the Eisner Award nominated Old Man Logan. Barber edited the first Marvel comics work by many of today’s top creators.
“I’ve worked with some of the best creators in comics, and I’ve worked on some of the best characters in comics. As Editor-In-Chief, I’m looking forward to being able to bring those together in new and dynamic ways,” says Barber.
After coming onboard as one of the writers of IDW’s relaunch of their main Transformers line, Barber was also hired as a Senior Editor, working closely with Hasbro on the Transformers and G.I. Joe lines of comics. Along the way, Barber fulfilled a life-long dream by editing the reimagined Jem and the Holograms.
Barber left editorial to write full-time, working on many IDW/Hasbro titles, as well as Back to the Future (co-written with BTTF co-creator Bob Gale). Barber also worked on screenplays for a few as-yet-unproduced films (live action and animated), wrote the Transformers: Autobots Alliance interactive experience (currently running in Chongqing, China), and wrote Doctor Strange and Spider-Man comics for Marvel.
Anita Frazier comes to IDW with an extensive background in sales, marketing, market research, and business development. Between 1994 and 2004, Frazier served as Director of Marketing for DC Comics Licensed Properties, Vice President of Sales for Sony Pictures Consumer Products, and Vice President of Sales for Vivendi Universal Games.
In 2004, she joined The NPD Group as an industry analyst and assumed the role of Executive Director of Client Development and New Business Development in 2011. Since 2016, she has operated as an independent consultant to companies in entertainment, video games, licensing, toy, and market research industries. Frazier has an MBA in Business Administration from The Anderson School at UCLA.
“Anita’s expertise in brand management originates right here in our industry, with comic book IP that erupted into mass market juggernauts,” says Goldstein. “As the comic publishing home to many of the most recognizable brands in entertainment, IDW is an environment perfectly suited to her expertise. We’re going to see great things develop with our key brands in the coming months with Anita at the helm.”
“I am excited to return to my entertainment roots working with IDW and its array of amazing original and licensed IP,” says Frazier. “I am particularly excited about working with the great team of smart, passionate professionals at IDW. This will be a very rewarding journey.”
PERDY Original Graphic Novel Is A Smokin’ Western Read
Image Comics is pleased to announce PERDY: a new original graphic novel western series from Angoulême Award nominee, and international star, Kickliy.
The titular character, Perdy, loves two things: sex and robbing banks—no particular order. After spending 15 years in Yuma prison, Perdy wastes no time in getting back to doing both. A lot has changed since Perdy’s been away, especially her looks, but that’s not gonna stop her from piecing together the biggest score of gold this side of the border. And if anyone gets in her way, they’ll be pushing up petunias.
Kickliy is an international star in the field of comic books and was nominated for a 2017 Angouleme Award in France for his critically acclaimed Musnet series. This English translation of PERDY is his first work with Image Comics.
PERDY hardcover (ISBN: 978-1-5343-0847-3) will be available in comic shops on Wednesday, September 5th and in bookstores on Tuesday, September 11th. You can pre-order PERDY on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-a-Million, Indiebound, and Indigo.
Captain Canuck’s First Appearance On A Coin
The Mint goes big on national pride with collector coins celebrating superhero Captain Canuck and many other homegrown icons!
The Mint is celebrating Captain Canuck on a $20 fine silver rectangular coin showing the imposing red and white-clad figure of our homegrown superhero, just as he looked when he burst onto the comic book scene in 1975. Designed by creator Richard Comely, the rectangular coin is a perfect canvas for the image of Captain Canuck proudly standing guard before the land he is sworn to protect. After collecting tales of his exploits for more than 40 years, comic book fans can now own a piece of our northern hero in 99.99% pure silver. This all-Canadian collectible, along with many other keepsakes celebrating the constantly unfolding story of our country, is available as of May 1st
DARK HORSE 2018 Eisner Nominees Announced
The nominations are in for the Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards 2018! Dark Horse Comics has 13 nominations in 10 categories.
The nominees, chosen by a blue-ribbon panel of judges, reflect the wide range of material published in comics and graphic novels.
Named for acclaimed comics creator Will Eisner, the awards are in their thirtieth year of highlighting the best publications and creators in comics and graphic novels.
DARK HORSE EISNER AWARD NOMINEES 2018
Best Single Issue/One-Shot:
• Hellboy: Krampusnacht, by Mike Mignola and Adam Hughes
Best Continuing Series:
• Black Hammer, by Jeff Lemire, Dean Ormston, and David Rubín
Best Adaptation from Another Medium:
• H. P. Lovecraft’s The Hound and Other Stories, adapted by Gou Tanabe, translated by Zack Davisson
• Herman Melville’s Moby Dick, adapted by Christophe Chabouté, translated by Laure Dupont
Best Archival Collection/Project—Comic Books:
• Will Eisner the Centennial Celebration, 1917-2017, by Paul Gravatt, Denis Kitchen, and John Lind
Best Penciller/Inker or Penciller/Inker Team:
• Gary Gianni, Hellboy: Into the Silent Sea
Best Lettering:
• Stan Sakai, Usagi Yojimbo, Groo: Play of the Gods
Best Publication Design:
• Will Eisner: The Centennial Celebration, 1917-2017, designed by John Lind
Best Writer:
• Jeff Lemire, Black Hammer (Dark Horse); Descender (Image)
• Matt Kindt, Grass Kings (BOOM! Studios); Ether (Dark Horse); Eternity, X-O Manowar (Valiant)
Best Writer/Artist:
• Chabouté, Moby Dick (Dark Horse); Alone, The Park Bench (Gallery 13/Simon & Schuster)
Best Penciller/Inker or Penciller/Inker Team:
• David Rubín, Black Hammer #9 & #12, Ether, Sherlock Frankenstein #1–3 (Dark Horse); Beowulf (Image)
Best Coloring:
• David Rubín, Ether, Black Hammer, Sherlock Frankenstein (Dark Horse); Beowulf (Image)
• Dave Stewart, Black Hammer, B.P.R.D: Devil You Know, Hellboy: Into the Silent Sea, Sherlock Frankenstein, The Shaolin Cowboy (Dark Horse); Maestros (Image)
Congratulations to all the Eisner nominees for 2018!
DARK HORSE Honors Japan’s Master Artist With Illustrated Biography
Dark Horse is thrilled to reveal details from the upcoming Yoshitaka Amano: The Illustrated Biography—Beyond the Fantasy. Author Florent Gorges (The History of Nintendo, Vol. 1: 1889-1980), one of France’s leading video game historians, sets out to explore the 50 years thus far in the career of legendary artist Yoshitaka Amano (Final Fantasy).
Yoshitaka Amano: The Illustrated Biography—Beyond the Fantasy is a beautiful celebration of the life and imagery of Japan’s master of fantasy and science fiction art! This handsome, landscape-style hardback contains nearly 400 illustrations and photos from the incredible career of Final Fantasy designer Yoshitaka Amano. But Beyond the Fantasy covers far more than just the famous game series. Amano’s artistic journey goes back to his first job in 1967—age 15, working on Speed Racer! From animator to illustrator, to internationally exhibited painter, this biography is a look not only into the work of Amano’s life, but the influences, techniques, philosophy, and family that have nurtured it.
The Yoshitaka Amano: The Illustrated Biography—Beyond the Fantasy Limited Edition is a must-have for any Amano fan. Its three colors, black, red, and gold are designed to evoke Amano’s own favorite hues—and his father’s traditional lacquerware craft that influenced him from childhood!
The black slipcase of the Yoshitaka Amano: The Illustrated Biography—Beyond the Fantasy Limited Edition contains not only the same 328-page gold hardback biography from the regular edition, but also the elegant red 96-page Yoshitaka Amano—Paris Sketchbook, a landscape-style softcover with French flaps. The Paris Sketchbook follows Amano through the famous city in a photo essay, collecting the sketches of the people he made along the way!
Besides the gold and red books, the Limited Edition also contains a portfolio with a region-free Blu-ray (subtitled in English) featuring almost three hours of talk and interviews with the creator and the documentary makers, containing bonus information and archival images not in the biography. You’ll walk with Amano through the streets of Paris, shop with him for drawing supplies and art books, and experience a “live draw” in his studio, showing Amano’s exact technique from a blank sheet to finished Vampire Hunter D painting! A mini-lithograph of the painting and a Final Fantasy illustration is also included in the portfolio—and finally, the Yoshitaka Amano: The Illustrated Biography—Beyond the Fantasy Limited Edition features an individually signed card from Amano himself!
The Yoshitaka Amano: The Illustrated Biography—Beyond the Fantasy hardcover is 328 pages and retails for $49.99. The Yoshitaka Amano: The Illustrated Biography—Beyond the Fantasy Limited Edition is 424 pages total and retails for $149.99. Both editions go on sale October 10, 2018, and are available for preorder on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and at your local comic shop.
Praise for Yoshitaka Amano:
“Amano is an artist for the next century…He has taken all that he has learned from anime, from American comics, from a hundred traditions, and he moves forward with it, scaling the wall between fine art and illustration, between East and West, between yesterday and tomorrow. Amano is a storyteller. His paintings are stories. His mind is magic: and here he gives us a kaleidoscope of images to take us into the future, to teach us about our past.”—Neil Gaiman
“Amano originally developed his highly stylized imagery in the service of anime and video-game design, but its influence today is unarguably visible in the ‘Superflat’ cosmos of Takashi Murakami, Mariko Mori, and a handful of other Japanese artists who have lately risen to international stardom…While the majority of Western artists who employ the imagery of popular culture do so through appropriation, Amano needs no source material other than his own.”—Artforum International
“Amano’s art is amazing; it seems to move on the page in a musicality of ink so that the eternal tension between creation and destruction seem to dance.”—Sacramento News & Review
Until Next Time From the World of Indie Comics
We Will Be Watching