The comics and graphic novel market slipped 6.5% in 2017, with sharper declines in comic store and newsstand sales mitigated by stronger sales in the book channel and digital, according to a new joint estimate by ICv2's Milton Griepp and Comichron's John Jackson Miller. Total comics and graphic novel sales to consumers in the U.S. and Canada remained above $1 billion at $1.015 billion in 2017, a $70 million decrease from sales in 2016.
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BOOM! Studios announced today that it has hired Jeanine Schaefer as Executive Editor. In this newly created role, Schaefer will report directly to Matt Gagnon, Editor-in-Chief, and function in a leadership role within the Editorial department while overseeing a new, yet-to-be-revealed line of titles.
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Valiant Entertainment is proud to announce it has brought on seasoned comics executive Mel Caylo to serve as its Director of Marketing. Caylo will work closely with Valiant’s executive, sales, and editorial teams to plan, execute, and oversee all aspects of PR and marketing for the publisher’s critically acclaimed slate of monthly titles, including SHADOWMAN, X-O MANOWAR, BLOODSHOT SALVATION, NINJA-K, QUANTUM AND WOODY!, and others, as well as the upcoming, much-anticipated HARBINGER WARS 2 crossover event.
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Valiant Entertainment is proud to announce that veteran editor, writer, and Eisner Award nominee Karl Bollershas been named to the position of Editor. In his new role, Bollers will assist Valiant Editor-in-Chief Warren Simons on an ongoing basis and contribute to Valiant’s critically acclaimed slate of monthly titles, including X-O MANOWAR, BLOODSHOT SALVATION, NINJA-K, QUANTUM AND WOODY!, and others, as well as the upcoming HARBINGER WARS 2 crossover event.
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Image Comics Publisher Eric Stephenson—credited by many for ushering in the Image Comics Renaissance—is joining Robert Kirkman, Erik Larsen, Todd McFarlane, Marc Silvestri, and Jim Valentino as a member of the company’s Board of Directors.
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Filmmaker and DMG Entertainment Founder Dan Mintz announced today that the company has acquired Valiant Entertainment, the third largest universe of superhero characters in entertainment, sitting alongside Warner Bros.’ DC Comics and Disney’s Marvel.
Mintz has held a significant stake in Valiant since 2014. By taking complete ownership of Valiant's library of over 2,000 characters, including X-O Manowar, Bloodshot, Harbinger, Shadowman, Archer & Armstrong, Ninjak, Faith and more, Mintz looks to further secure his filmmaker-run studio with a treasure trove of world-class intellectual properties and establish DMG as one of the most valuable and innovative media companies in Hollywood.res
Ghost City Comics is presenting another contest on their site and this time it's called 5x5 Fest. Essentially you have five days to make five pages of a comic and will be given a prop, setting and a line of dialogue to include in your comic. Judges will pick the winners and I will be reviewing the winners. Exciting right?! Keeping with the theme of "5" I asked Michael Ruiz-Unger and Tucker Tota about 5x5 Fest.
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Lion Forge announces four new hires in its editorial and marketing departments today, including industry veterans Greg Tumbarello and Jeremy Atkins. These two join the rapidly growing publisher alongside multiple hires in each department’s junior staff. Grace Bornhoft joins as assistant editor and Madeline Roy as marketing associate.
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Image Comics is pleased to announce that IMAGE EXPO will partner will return and for the first time ever and will be held in Portland, Oregon on Wednesday, February 21st, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Leftbank Annex. Tickets are now available for purchase here.
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Valiant Entertainment is proud to announce that Shanyce Lora has been named to the position ofSocial Media Manager. In her new role, Lora will oversee the expansion of Valiant’s social media footprint on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and more, and contribute to the company’s further expansion beyond the printed page and into emerging media with short-form live-action and animated content for a digital-first audience.
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PanelxPanel is a magazine by comic creators for comic creators. Its tag, “An in-depth look at the medium we love: comics,” says everything. It is a celebration of the comics medium. What Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou has created in magazine form is Inside The Actors Studio for sequential storytelling. In only three issues Hass has gotten creators to delve very deep into their collaborations and philosophies of creating comics. Sometimes the discussion is personal and frank as they discuss where their heads were at during certain points in the process.
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Valiant Entertainment is proud to announce that Charlotte Greenbaum has been named to the position of Associate Editor. Greenbaum begins her new role in the midst of Valiant’s “ICONS”initiative with a slate of major new ongoing series, prestige-format limited series, and self-contained events planned for the publisher’s most storied characters, including X-O Manowar, Bloodshot, Faith, Ninjak, and more.
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Yay... variants. Themed variants for each month... but only starting in February. This is why I hate variants. Image doesn't need to do this shit. Sure it "sounds" awesome because they aren't known for it, but if you need a reminder of how old this shit gets, look no further than Dark Horse and BOOM!'s celebration last year or Aspen's from two years ago... that shit almost put them out of business. At least it looked that way when they stopped publishing titles. The point is, this seems exactly like the shit that Image publisher Eric Stephenson is always talking about being terrible for the industry. Guess it doesn't matter when you hit 25 years.
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Find out why licensed brands are on our “Worst of 2016” list.
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I picture a small basement office, somewhere in the middle of the hallway with this sign on it and just two people working there. One of which will be working there until another publisher has an open position. I guess IDW didn't want to be the only non-corporate entity to not have a Portland office. Also, I see an increase in comic creators moving to Portland. Which could mean a resurgence of 90s comics... anyone? Anyone?
Read MoreBy Dustin Cabeal
Hey, there kiddos. Yeah, come on in and sit down, we need to talk. First, you're probably wondering if your mom and I are getting a divorce and the answer is yes. You see, I've loved your mom since I was a little kid. I remember her fondly in the pages of Spider-Man and Captain America. Later that love grew into X-Men and Batman. I grew up some, and we saw each other less and less.
Read MoreThat's murder she wrote folks. The CBMFP will be taking a break while I recharge my battery. We thank you for listening every week and hope that you've enjoyed 259 episodes of the CBMFP, more if you count all those movie ones and shit that we did. Steve and I still have a hell of a show for you this week. Lots of comic book movie news because let's be honest... that's all there ever is.
Read MoreDark Horse is proud to announce the promotion of Melissa Lomax to the role of director of Marketing. She will be responsible for helping to oversee the Marketing department in bookstore and direct market business strategies, digital publishing, promotions, social media, and advertising. “Melissa has proven herself to be a great asset to the company. Her hard work and dedication have been an example for us all,” said Dark Horse’s president and publisher Mike Richardson.
Melissa started her career at Dark Horse Comics as a summer intern in the Marketing department in 2007 and 2008. In September 2009, Melissa was hired as a public relations coordinator following her graduation from Pacific Lutheran University. Through hard work and dedication, Melissa has been promoted from coordinator to manager and now to director in the Marketing department. Melissa holds a bachelor of arts in communications with a focus in public relations and advertising and a minor in history. Melissa has been a member of Pacific Lutheran University’s School of Arts and Communication advisory board since its inception in 2013.
Vice president of Marketing Matt Parkinson explained his excitement for Melissa’s part in Dark Horse’s future: “As we near the end of our first thirty years of business, I look forward to watching Melissa help propel Dark Horse into the next thirty years with her creativity and innovation!”
New director of Marketing Melissa Lomax spoke of her excitement for the new opportunity: “I am beyond thrilled and honored to take on this position with the new opportunities and challenges it presents. It has been a privilege to work along side and learn from the best people in the business and I only hope to continue the stellar legacy of Dark Horse Comics in the years to come.”
Please join us in congratulating Melissa Lomax on her past accomplishments and wishing her luck in her new role in the company!
Penguin Random House UK has expanded its distribution deal with Diamond Comic Distributors (DCD) to sell and promote its entire line of Doctor Who books and novels to comic book specialty stores, bookstores, mass-market merchandisers, libraries and other outlets in the United States. Previously, Diamond represented only Penguin Random House’s young adult and children's line of Doctor Who books and novels, but the deal has now been expanded to include its adult line of Doctor Who titles.
Robert Waddington, International Sales Director, Penguin Random House UK comments: “Diamond Comic Distributors have proven themselves a strong partner on our young adult Doctor Who range, and we are delighted to now be selling our adult list through them as well. We feel very positive about our relationship moving forward, and 2017 will be a big year for Doctor Who with the series returning to television.”
Penguin Random House UK has published hundreds of books and novels in its Doctor Who line and releases coming soon include reprints of the 60’s classic tales, Doctor Who and the Crusaders, Doctor Who and the Daleks, and Doctor Who and the Zarbi. Penguin Random House UK also boasts a strong backlist of Doctor. Who titles, led by Doctor Who: Who-ology, Doctor Who: The Official Quiz Book, and Doctor Who: Beautiful Chaos."Doctor Who has always been an important brand license for Diamond and we’re happy expand our deal with Penguin Books UK to represent their entire line of Doctor Who books in the United States," said Tim Leneghan, Executive Director-Purchasing for Diamond Comic Distributors.
"Doctor Who has always been an important brand license for Diamond and we’re happy expand our deal with Penguin Books UK to represent their entire line of Doctor Who books in the United States," said Tim Leneghan, Executive Director-Purchasing for Diamond Comic Distributors.
IDW Publishing today announced some exciting editorial shifts with a major promotion and a new hire. David Hedgecock has been promoted from Managing Editor to Editor-in-Chief. In his new role, David will be handling the day-to-day management associated with producing the company’s print publications, providing direction and supervision for the editorial staff, while also focusing his attention on increasing readership and utilizing new media. David joined IDW as Managing Editor in 2013 after having previously served as CEO for Ape Entertainment. He is currently spearheading the Revolutionevent series, which sees multiple Hasbro properties merge into a single shared universe.
Chris Ryall continues as the company’s Chief Creative Officer in an expanded capacity by concentrating his efforts on developing new creative opportunities for all divisions of IDW. This includes the pursuit of new creative talent, stories, and licenses, developing proposals, and identifying new publishing opportunities, distribution channels, and formats. Having joined IDW as Editor-in-Chief in 2004, Chris boasts one of the longest-standing stretches for this position in comics and under his watch helped grow the company into an editorial powerhouse, developing such properties as the award-winning Locke & Key, Hasbro's Transformers, Toho’s Godzilla, CBS/Paramount's Star Trek, and 2000 AD's Judge Dredd, among many others. He will also remain actively involved in writing for the company including Rom, which will tie-in closely with the new universe established in Revolution.
“In his three years at IDW, David has shown the drive and commitment that is needed to be successful in his new position,” says Chief Creative Officer Chris Ryall. “This move is well-earned and I can’t think of anyone better suited to succeed me in this position. I’m excited to continue working with him and the rest of the team while working to take the company to even greater heights.”
“Chris has given me big shoes to fill,” said newly minted Editor-in-Chief David Hedgecock. “Working with the editorial team at IDW over the past few years has been a career high. I’m excited for this next chapter to begin and for many more years of creativity to come working with the the most talented people in comics.”
Joining the newly restructured editorial department is Chris Cerasi, who has held various editorial positions over the years with a concentration in licensed publishing having handled some of today’s biggest global properties, including the Star Wars franchise for LucasBooks, and the pantheon of the DC Universe in the Licensed Publishing division of DC Entertainment. He has project managed titles tied in to both the comic and multi-media interpretations of DC's characters, including Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy, Smallville, Su
“We’re excited to welcome our newest addition to the team, Christopher Cerasi, who brings with him a wealth of talent and experience from his considerable time at DC, Lucasfilm, and Rovio,” said David Hedgecock. “Chris is another perfect addition to the IDW staff.”