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Good NewsFrom (and for) the world of comics.by Ken Gale |
I especially could use your input for this page. There is just so much happening that I alone couldn't possibly keep up with it. Please send me your announcements and information: kengale@comicbookradioshow.com
Peter Schjeldahl's article in the October 17, 2005 issue of the New Yorker is another "Comics are not just for kids, they sure have changed" essay. Some day, this won't be "news," but until then, the more people who are told the better.
The March/April 2005 issue of the Columbia Journalism Review includes the essay "The Case for Comics Journalism" by Kristian Williams.
The 2004 DVDX Awards for movies that went direct to video (whether intentionally or not) Best Movie Award went to Mark Hamill's "Comic Book: The Movie." Congratulations to Mark and to the comics community!
Time magazine of mid-March, 2004 used a super-hero comic strip to make their statement about pervasive steroid use in society.
At the end of the Judy Chicago "Dinner Party" exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum, there is a gift shop full of books on woman's history, feminism, woman's art, etc. With the other art books was Trina Robbins' book on women cartoonists. Not in the children's section, I might add. Not the type of book that was there 20 years ago, the first time that exhibit was at that museum. Sequential art has come a long way! We may still have far to go, but there are signs....
Entertainment Weekly has a regular comic book news column and the New York Times Book Review regularly reviews graphic novels. More signs.
Quite a few major mainstream magazines, including TV Guide, reported on this year's San Diego Comic Con, treating it respectfully. (Thanks to Rachel Kadushin for bringing this to my attention.)
The History Channel did a show on comic books. COMIC BOOK SUPERHEROES UNMASKED was on Monday, June 23 at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT. Featured were interviews with many comic book writers, artists and editors including Stan Lee, Will Eisner, Denny O'Neil, Michael Chabon, Jim Steranko, Kevin Smith, Frank Miller, Neil Gaiman, & Joe Quesada. According to their press release, "The program was designed to bring visual depth, energy & movement to classic comic book images while still preserving the integrity of the artwork." Hosted by Shane West, Tom Sawyer in the film "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" and produced for The History Channel by Triage Entertainment. The History Channel claims to reach "more than 82 million Nielsen subscribers." Their web site is www.HistoryChannel.com.
The NYC Daily News had an article by David Hinckley acknowledging - and complimenting - the comic book source material of many recent big-budget, highly successful movies, such as the Hulk. Check out the entire article. Don't blame David for the headline, though.
The June, 2003 issue of Better Homes and Gardens featured an extensive article regarding the use of comics as a learning tool and included a recommended readers' list. Better Homes and Gardens is the world's third-largest publication, with seven-million subscribers and 30-million readers. Again, not a magazine in which we might have expected to see such an article years ago. I heard from Stephen C. George who wrote that article and told me, "When I'm not writing for CBG (Media Watchdog column) I'm a deputy editor at BH&G and when I first got the job in late 2002, the first thing I campaigned for was a positive feature on comics. Despite its title, the 39 million people who read BH&G could tell you it's a family service magazine and many pages are devoted to raising kids, parenting, education, and entertainment. I thought it would be a great forum for an upbeat piece and based on the positive response I got, from readers and from comic shop owners who were seeing a lot of new customers shopping for their kids and grandchildren because of it, I guess I was right."
The American Splendor movie is causing a lot of mainstream articles about the diversity of comics, including a good one in Time.
James Mobius tells us that the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, MA has "the DC Art of Alex Ross book, as well as a Sandman book, and some other comix stuff" in the gift shop. "I was impressed."
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