Lots o’ Links

Digital comics are one of the many tentacles of the comics market... (Image via Wikipedia)

After a week of blogging, I’m quickly figuring out that there isn’t enough time in the day to talk about everything that catches my attention. So I’m going to borrow from Drew McWeeny at Hitfix and just post a quick round-up…

Let’s go!

This could be one of the biggest stories of the year: CNet is reporting that Amazon is considering e-book subscriptions that would be, in essence, digital libraries. It’s like Netflix for books! The idea of lending books to others could disappear, if everyone has their own e-book subscription… LOTS of great info and reporting in the link – it’s definitely worth a read.

Comics Alliance reports that China is planning a Comics and Animation Museum, with buildings shaped like word balloons! Check out the video in the link, too. I’d love to see something like this – shame it’s in such a messed-up country.

The CBLDF links to a Sydney Morning-Herald article which reports on the fallout of the infamous “Mohammed” cartoons that ran in some European papers six years ago. In the wake of the extreme and evil reaction, more artists are self-censoring their work – and that’s bad for free speech everywhere.

Newsarama talks to Brandon Jerwa, a comics writer-turned-documentarian creating a film about international comics creators. I wonder if he’s been in touch with the “Mohammed” cartoonists or Syrian cartoonist Ali Ferzat

Ali Ferzat's message to anti-free speech thugs (from his website)

– that could be a documentary in itself, in fact.

In one of the best comics reviews in recent weeks, CBR analyzes comics master Jim Steranko’s nonlinear story “Frogs!”

COMICS SALES NEWS ‘N’ STUFF:

Diamond’s direct-market sales rankings for August have appeared, and the new Justice League #1 is the top-selling book of the year – well, at least for the Direct Market comics shops…

DC is edging closer to Marvel in market share (and it’s looking increasingly likely that it’s going to beat Marvel for September), while Dark Horse is solidly back in third place.

And sales have gone way up for August, so the market may still have some serious life in it. Let’s hope it lasts.

In addition to Justice League #1’s 3 printings so far, all of last week’s DC #1’s have sold out at the distributor level and are being reprinted, as well as all of the ones coming out this week… (More on this soon.)

ALL DAY (AGAIN)

Anybody else miss Wax Trax! Records?

Wax Trax! was possibly the most unknown and underrated part of music history from the ’80s and early ’90s – it had a massive effect on New Wave, Industrial, Dance, and Sample-Based/Mash-Up music, with next to no radio airplay in America (which seems to be stuck in the ’70s as far as its attitudes towards rock ‘n’ roll…).

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