Join in as we continue the conversation from last week’s return episode. Tom, Chris, John Siuntres and Chris Burnham talk about the recent New York Comic Convention and the build up to Iron Man. Chris caught up with comics legend Neal Adams to chat about the developments in the Superman case and the perils of creator owned work. The panel discusses his thoughts as well as the future of Krypton’s last son. As Final Crisis approaches, the panel gives their thoughts on Countdown and why Trinity may be getting off on the right foot. Tom wraps things up by putting a bounty on The Sentry’s head.

Remember to come back next week for Emerald City Comicon highlights and interviews!

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6th Annual ECCC :: May 10th & 11th, 2008 :: Seattle, WA
Washington State Convention & Trade Center

Around Comics is the official Podcast of the Emerald City ComiCon. Join us May 10th & 11th as we record from the show floor. Chris, Tom and Sal will be there all weekend - talking with comic pros, celebrities and fans.

The Emerald City ComiCon is taking place May 10th & 11th, at the Washington State Convention & Trade Center which is conveniently located in downtown Seattle, Washington. The main entrance is located at 7th and Pike St.

The Convention Center is easily accessible by automobile and other modes of transportation. On-site parking information can be found here (PDF format).

For more information visit http://www.emeraldcitycomicon.com/

Hey all, just wanted to let everyone know that after two straight years of producing a weekly podcast, we have decided to take a break from the show.

When we started this, comics were just something we did in our free time. We read them, collected them and enjoyed them as a hobby. Creating a comic book podcast changed that in some ways. Comics became a larger part of our daily lives. And not just the reading of comics, but the business of it too. We’ve become so absorbed by the day-to-day of the comic book industry, that it feels as if we are part of it, which we are not (well, other than Skottie). We are just fans of it, and it is something that we do for fun, not work.

But both Chris and I work in a lot of the same ways. If we are going to do something, we do it as best we can. We have tried to do that with the show, the site and everything else. We hope that all of the listeners have enjoyed it, and we have had a lot of fun doing it. But that work can start to get to you after a while. Especially when you are trying to take care of the other things in your life. The things that really matter.

So with that in mind, we have decided to go on hiatus until further notice. We will have an episode this Thursday, and The Club episode next week, but that will be that for now.

Chris, Tom, Skottie and myself would like to thank you all for your continued support and appreciation.

Fear not, true believers, this is not the end.

Beginning January 30th, MySpace Comic Books will feature a special promotion for Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips series CRIMINAL for an entire week, providing a unique new showcase for the acclaimed crime comic that won Best New Series in the Eisner Awards.

During each day of this event, at http://www.myspace.com/comicbooks, readers will be treated to excerpts from the first two Criminal trade paperbacks and previews of the new Criminal Vol.2 1 (arriving in stores this February. But that’s not all—look for behind the scenes extras that include a Criminal noir art talk interview between Eisner-winners Sean Phillips and fan-favorite Daredevil artist Michael Lark, a “Week in the Life” writer’s diary by Ed Brubaker; and a special Artist-to-Artist video featuring Ed Brubaker and Bill Hader (Superbad, Saturday Night Live).

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You can look stylish and show your support for The Hero Initiative with two great new T-shirts! These two amazing shirts are available via: at Atomic Comics or direct from Hero at conventions we’ll be attending in 2008.

Tom Scioli, the Kirby-charged artist of Image Comics’ GØDLAND lends his talents to Hero’s new “Lend a Hand” T-shirt available in men’s L, XL and XXL sizes.

For the goddess-lover in you, the lovely and fiery haired Dawn is also available, with art by Joseph Michael Linsner. Dawn comes on gray in men’s sizes L, XL, XXL, or on black in ladies babydoll sizes S, M, L, and XL. This is the first time that Hero is offering a babydoll T-shirt, so all of you ladies that requested this style…don’t miss out!

“I am honored to help out The Hero Initiative, a cause that should be supported by all comic book lovers,” said Dawn creator Joseph Michael Linsner. “Comic creators in need have no one to help them except Hero. Buy one of these exclusive, sexy Hero Dawn shirts for every Goddess-worshipper you know!”

“I was more than happy to craft a design for The Hero Initiative,” said GØDLAND artist Tom Scioli. “I’m really glad there’s somebody looking out for the well-being of the artists and writers who’ve brought us comic fans so much joy.”

All new The Hero Initiative T-shirts are available now for $17.99 each.

The Hero Initiative creates a financial safety net for yesterdays’ creators who may need emergency medical aid, financial support for essentials of life, and an avenue back into paying work. It’s a chance for all of us to give back something to the people who have given us so much enjoyment. For more information, visit www.HeroInitiative.org or call 310-909-7809.

The New York Daily News has released a story on Captain America #34 and the “New” Captain America.

WARNING - SPOILERS!

Captain America is back and he’s packing heat.

Less than a year after the legendary star-spangled superhero was killed off in his comic book, his former teenage sidekick is being promoted to fill those big red boots in the latest issue, out Wednesday.

Fans were devastated when Steve Rogers - a 1941 creation of artists Joe Simon and Jack Kirby - was gunned down on the steps of a courthouse last March. It was the industry’s biggest shocker since Superman temporarily went up, up and away to the great Fortress of Solitude in the sky in 1992.

Many pundits believed the death of a character draped in the American flag was a thinly veiled political allegory.

“It’s an experiment,” said Marvel Entertainment editor in chief Joe Quesada. “Every day, every story, I’m ready for backlash.”

In the years between World War II and the emergence of television as a mass medium, American popular culture as we know it was first created—in the pulpy, boldly illustrated pages of comic books. No sooner had this new culture emerged than it was beaten down by church groups, community bluestockings, and a McCarthyish Congress—only to resurface with a crooked smile on its face in Mad magazine.

The story of the rise and fall of those comic books has never been fully told—until The Ten-Cent Plague. David Hajdu’s remarkable new book vividly opens up the lost world of comic books, its creativity, irreverence, and suspicion of authority.

Bookforum.com features a lengthy excerpt from the upcoming novel.

Groups of students continued to burn comic books in school yards around the country, some under the sway of their parents and teachers, some in concord with them, some unsure of their own points of view and doubtful of the propriety of disagreeing with their elders, some emboldened to defiance through the burnings themselves. In one case—a grand public protest organized in Rumson, New Jersey, an affluent town near the seashore—the young people involved were exceptionally young, Cub Scouts, and they were only part of an elaborate plan arranged by a Cubmaster, Louis Cooke, a scout committeeman, Ralph Walter, and the mayor, Edward Wilson. As it was announced on January 6 at a “fathers’ night” meeting of the Rumson High School PTA, the event was to involve a two-day drive to collect comic books “portraying murderers and criminals,” a journalist at the meeting reported. A group of forty Cubs would tour the borough in a fire truck, “with siren screaming, and collect objectionable books at homes along the way.” Then the mayor would lead the boys in a procession from Borough Hall to Rumson’s Victory Park, where Wilson would present awards to the scouts and lead them in burning the comic books. The Cub who had gathered the most comics would have the honor of applying the torch to the books. When the national office of the Cub Scouts of America declined to support the bonfire, and news­papers as far-flung as Michigan’s Ironwood Daily Globe questioned it, the Rumson event was revised to conclude with the scouts donating the comics to the Salvation Army for scrap.

The Executive Committees of the Harvey Awards and the Baltimore Comic-Con are proud to present the official Nomination Ballot for this year’s Harvey Awards . Named in honor of the late Harvey Kurtzman, one of the industry’s most innovative talents, the Harvey Awards recognize outstanding work in comics and sequential art. Ballots are due for submission by March 21st.

The Harvey Awards will be presented on September 27th, 2008 in Baltimore as part of the Baltimore Comic-Con. The Master of Ceremonies for the awards dinner and presentation will once again be the wonderful and hilarious Kyle Baker.

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Marvel And Soleil Announce New Joint Publishing Venture!

Marvel, in collaboration with acclaimed French comic publisher Soleil, is proud to announce that they will be publishing some of Europe’s most popular comics in English for the first time! Producers of cutting edge science-fiction and fantasy comics loved across the world, Soleil’s an industry leader in bringing fresh voices to the comic medium with their diverse offerings. Now American audiences can discover why talent from all over the world line-up to produce to high-quality graphic novels with Soleil!

Some of Soleil’s most popular releases, such as Sky Doll, Universal War One, Samurai and Le Fleau Des Dieux, make their English language debuts beginning this May. The first release will be Sky Doll #1 (of 3), a timely socio-political thriller in which a young android must decide her destiny by challenging the very government—and faith—that has controlled her life.

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This spring Oni Press is picking up the sword and shield and heading out for adventure with NORTH WORLD, BOOK 1: THE EPIC OF CONRAD, a new original graphic novel series from cartoonist and webcomicker Lars Brown! Part LORD OF THE RINGS and part GROSS POINTE BLANK, NORTH WORLD is a fantasy epic that has already enjoyed critical success as a webcomic and now joins such Internet stalwarts as MEGATOKYO, PVP, PENNY ARCADE, and PERRY BIBLE FELLOWSHIP in moving to print with an already established audience in tow.

“NORTH WORLD is one of those books that just felt right for us,” said editor James Lucas Jones. “Lars’ sensibilities, both in terms of artistic style and storytelling, fit in line wonderfully with our own and while he’s tackling a genre that people don’t immediately associate with Oni Press, he’s exploring it in a way that is right up our alley.”

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This Tuesday, January 29, Marvel Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada checks back in on the man currently holding the mantle of Captain America…Comedy Central’s Stephen Colbert.

Colbert can’t seem to get enough of our very own Joe Q. During his previous appearance on the show (July 27, 2006), Quesada shocked Colbert with the news that Captain America would not support the U.S. government in the super hero Civil War.

What’s on the agenda for the powerhouse duo this time around “The new Captain America (debuting in this week’s Captain America #34)” The dearth of bears in Marvel comics?

It’s anyone’s guess at this point, but we’re hopeful Colbert & Quesada will get to the bottom of at least one question: Was Colbert’s bid for the White House some sort of Skrully conspiracy or simply an unfortunate failed attempt at bringing truthiness back to the Presidency?

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