The Four Color Media Monitor

Steve Ditko's "The Ever Unreachable"

2009-11-21T08:15:00.000-08:00

A writer at Big Hollywood presents another essay written by famous artist Steve Ditko on the comic book world and philosophy.

Boulder Daily Camera is also sugarcoating sales

2009-11-20T00:22:00.000-08:00

The Boulder Daily Camera of Colorado follows the example set by the Boston Globe, and provides their own local fluff-coated coverage of store sales:In the comic industry, superheroes are saving stores from the economic downturn. With a leap and a bound, sales have increased an estimated 1 percent at specialty retailers during the recession.Only one percent? That's asking a lot from the readers

Flash Rebirth 5: finally, an explanation

2009-11-19T10:21:00.000-08:00

The fifth issue of Flash: Rebirth has finally, after 3 months of delay, gone to press, and they belatedly give us an explanation for why the retcon: as the following review on Speed Force tells:We now know that Professor Zoom went back in time, killed Nora Allen, and framed her husband for it. Or rather, we now know for sure. Not only that, but he’s been jumping through time, messing with Barry

October's double digit decline

2009-11-18T07:49:00.000-08:00

Further signs that the industry is sadly weakening: ICV2 reports sales have dropped 14 percent since last year, and:Sales on the top 100 graphic novels dropped 30% vs. October 2008, producing an over-all decline for the top 300 comics and top 100 graphic novels combined of 17%.The year over-all has been near flat in comic stores, with a 1% decline in comic sales, 10% in graphic novels, and 2%

Boston Globe goes into freefall covering comics sales

2009-11-18T07:26:00.000-08:00

The Boston Globe writes about the opening of a comics store in the city, and turn out the gazillionth whitewash of the industry and how it's doing:The publishing industry is in a freefall, but comic books are doing fine. You may not recognize them, however.They're not doing fine, in sales or storytelling, but they did get the latter right: I don't recognize the famous superheroes and their

More superhero physics

2009-11-16T12:04:00.000-08:00

An article in the Chronicle Journal of Ontario, Canada, about another comics reader and physicist who's studying the physics of the superhero world.

Older fans come to Roanoke Comicon

2009-11-16T11:34:00.000-08:00

In this short news item on WBDJ7 about the Roanoke Valley Comic-Con, they tell that:The promoter says over time he's noticed the comic book hobby is attracting an older age group.And that's another sad sign of how less children are into the hobby.

Should comics maintain their future on the web?

2009-11-14T09:39:00.000-08:00

James Hudnall at Big Hollywood is talking about the death of the printed medium and how that's affecting even the comics business, not to mention the 4 dollar price they've already reached. He's also suggesting that going digital on the web may help give them some new life.Now their is some truth to this, that the internet may yet help save the comics industry, and at the same time, trade

NJ library promotes reading with graphic novels

2009-11-13T01:05:00.000-08:00

Here's an article in the Cumberland County Daily Journal about the Newfield Library promoting readership with their growing expansion of graphic novel supplies.

Sgt. Rock being sent into the future

2009-11-12T10:56:00.001-08:00

So there's a movie in the works based on DC's famous WW2 army hero, as reported on the Hollywood Reporter's Heat Vision blog, but it looks like they're about to commit another grave mistake, by setting it in the future, and, if the following tells anything:Until now, “Rock” has retained its World War II setting, with Silver and the studio trying to make a big-budget action adventure movie that

American superheroes' exceptionalism

2009-11-11T21:15:00.000-08:00

Mort Todd, a veteran in comics and animation, writes a two-part entry on Big Hollywood about the changing depiction of superheroes over the period of the 20th century, and how they degenerated into far too much angst-ridden portrayals, among other problems.

Dick Giordano regrets bringing on grim and grittiness

2009-11-11T07:36:00.000-08:00

Dick Giordano, one of DC's most successful inkers, who was senior editor during 1983-93, has told The Toronto Star that he regrets how grimness and grittiness arose during his period (via The Beat):What are the dangers in doing so? What specific pressures were you and Frank Miller working under with Batman? Did you have any road maps that you were following?Comic readers (and comic companies)

Johns may be biggest assistant in the desecration of the DCU

2009-11-09T12:07:00.000-08:00

The Nashua Telegraph gushes over Geoff Johns with the following superficial nonsense:Forget turning lemons into lemonade; I’m beginning to think writer Geoff Johns can turn lemons into fine wine.Johns has gained a reputation for fixing characters that have become radioactive because various revamps have made their histories too convoluted. He did it with Hawkman, he did it with the 1960s Green

Macworld reviews Manga Studio Debut 4

2009-11-08T11:03:00.000-08:00

Macworld's UK edition writes a review of Manga Studio Debut 4, a special comic strip learning and creation tool program.

West Texas's Comicon

2009-11-07T08:34:00.000-08:00

An article in the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal about the West Texas Comic-Con, which is beginning this week.

Comicon's founder passes away at 76

2009-11-07T08:13:00.000-08:00

Shel Dorf, who founded the SanDiego ComiCon back in 1970, is now dead at age 76. It's sad to see him go.Most amazing about Dorf is that he understood the problem of Hollywood's infiltration:Publicly, he complained that it was an ordeal to oversee an event that had grown so large. He also felt that "Hollywood had hijacked it," a reference to the convention broadening to reflect a wider range of

Comic Book Carnival Thirty-Eight

2009-11-05T10:35:00.000-08:00