Welcome back to The Rundown, our daily breakdown on comic news stories we missed from the previous day. Have a link to share? Email our team at rundown@multiversitycomics.com.
– The numbers are in from Diamond for April comic book sales and “Star Wars” #4 was at the top of the list. The Jason Aaron/John Cassady series has been superb so far, and it’s cool to see it’s doing well. “Convergence” also has a strong presence. In fact, apart from “Batman” #40, all the top-selling books for April seem to be either “Star Wars” or “Convergence” related. On the trade/graphic novel front, “The Walking Dead” continues to dominate. Me, I’m elated that “Lumberjanes” is on there. Friendship to the max.
– A couple weeks ago, Gerry Conway spoke out against DC for the way they pay royalties to creators whose characters are put in a different medium. Legal mumbo jumbo all claims that basically they’re all derivative and DC shouldn’t have to pay anyone. Well, now, Conway has issued an apology for his comments to Didio, Johns, and Lee. What strikes me as interesting is how this came out after he was hired on as a consultant at DC.
– You know that DC Bombshell Covers series? Yeah, it’s getting a digital first ongoing.
– Sara Lautman delivers an illustrated report from The Queers and Comics Conference in Manhattan. Though the event itself was more academic than like a standard comic convention, it’s wonderful that another niche of people have been able to carve out a part for themselves in this world; another demonstration that comics are for everybody.
– Archie Comics cancelled their Kickstarter campaign. They promise that the announced books will still be coming out, just not as soon as they had hoped.
– The Comix Experience is launching a Graphic Novel of the Month Club aimed at kids. It’s a pretty cool concept where kids get a new book every month (they have to subscribe, of course) and then have the opportunity to chat with each other, participate in activities, get some boss prizes, and even meet the creators. Even if the Big Two don’t want to say it, kids are still reading comics and I feel this is a fantastic program.
– Finally, in Webcomics Worth Clicking: George Folz is drawing a picture each day from the original Star Wars trilogy, called “#DarthDays”. Folz has a super cool visual style and sharp line. There’s no continuity to it so it’s more like a daily strip than anything, but it’s still super cool. Like his style? His “Beacon Lights” is also a solid story and “Roman Nose” is charming. If you know of any webcomics or strips that are worth checking out, please let us know in the comments.
