Comic Book Journal

Death is a big thing in comic books. After all, just look what happened with Captain America, the Flash, and before that, Superman, Jason Todd and the Flash again.

But Kevin Rubio - the man behind a very different view of Stormtroopers in the cult Star Wars short “Troops” - is now bringing a very different view of comic book death in “Abyss”, a new comic published by new kid on the block, Red 5 Comics.

And what better way to avoid media frenzies and fan outcries altogether - than to just kill the main character in the very first issue!

“I didn’t want the death of Abyss to be used as some kind of gimmick to boost sales years down the road,” Kevin Rubio told Comingsoon.net. “Frankly, none of you have ever heard of Abyss, so we need that sales gimmick now… before the series gets started. Trust me, you would have really loved to hate him.”

Re-teaming with “Tag and Bink Are Dead” collaborator Lucas Marangon, Rubio has let on that Abyss might not be “completely dead.”

Founded by Paul Ens, former director of Lucas Online by Lucasfilm and Scott Chitwood, co-founder of TheForce.net., Red 5 Comics have been carrying a fair amount of buzz with it, and expected to have a strong showing when it releases its books in October. Kevin Rubio is one of its most recognizable creators, forming the flagship of this latest publisher.

Will Red 5 paint this industry red? We’re going to have to wait to find out, but Rubio is one of my favorite creators - especially after I read every singe Tag and Bink story - and I don’t expect him to disappoint here, even if the first issue of Abyss is apparently protagonist-less.

The MMORPG-based comic City of Heroes - just about the only other comic I actually have a mailing subscription to - is set to end in about a month or so (figures).

City of Heroes has already eclisped two runs from two different publishers. The first, by Blue King Studios, focused on on minor heroes Apex, War Witch and Horus, in their efforts against the various supervillain groups of Paragon City. This one got off to a rocky start, and though its character were superb by the end, cheesy dialogue in the start as well poorly-picked side characters were the death of this series. To make matters worse, the Blue King run completely ignored to the heroes at the heart of COH - like the ones on the box!

The second series, by Top Cow, corrected this problem by recruiting serious comic book muscle like Mark Waid, Dan Jurgens and Troy Hickman while injecting a focus on the premiere superteam, the Freedom Phalanx as well as the Teen Titan-esque Vindicators. While heads and tails above the Blue King Studios run, the Top Cow series still had problems - namely focusing too much on its NPC heroes and not enough on player-created heroes.

First off, I wouldn’t argue with the cancelling of the comic - it was prone to delays, and since it was Top Cow, I have a feeling if it wasn’t selling it was burning a hole in NCSoft’s pocket. However, I do think there should be something comic-related out there to entice the regular audience.

The comics have included strips from the likes of Ctrl Alt Del’s Tim Buckley as well as others in the past, and this practice should continue on the website. In addition, I recommend (warning: vagrant self-promotion approaching!) a humor action-driven webcomic picking off where the comic left off, done in the style of say, my own webcomic Hector! (**cough** my schedule is open **cough**)

While I’ll be sorry to see the City of Heroes comic go - nothing made me want to play more, even when my account is inactive - I do think there are plenty of interesting options awaiting the folks at NCSoft. I can’t wait to see what they do next.

Wednesday I finally remembered to take my notepad and pencil to the grocery store and write down the titles avaliable there.

As I said before, the comics were pushed back to the bottom shelf and furthest rack, but seeing as how my feature was delayed by a kid ransacking the rack, these comics are at least somewhat popular in my home town. Here’s a list of what I found:

DC Animated Titles including Legion of Superheroes in the 31st Century and The Batman Strikes. I’ve also seen Justice League Unlimited there once or twice.

Several Spider-Man titles including Sensational, Amazing, and oddly enough, Spider-Girl. The latter is one of the most consistent titles I’ve seen there. This could be due to the fact that the De Falco-written series looks more in keeping with the Spider-Man look than the current comics!

Usually a smattering of X-Men titles, including Uncanny, are available. However, I’ve rarely seen anything outside of the ordinary save for an issue or two of Astonishing in flipbook format (flipbooks are two comics in one, usually reprints of crucial issues). And, oh yes, there will always be a Wolverine comic.

One nice surprise was the JMS-written Ultimate Power, which details the Ultimates, X-Men, Spider-Man and Fantastic Four fighting against the the Squadron Surpreme.

There will always be a Superman, but I typically find one title per selection. In addition to Action Comics and Superman, I once saw a copy of All-Star Superman, which I almost considered buying, but decided to wait till the trade was published.

The most consistent comic - other than Spider-Girl - I observed to be Sonic The Hedgehog. Don’t laugh - this series has been running since, if not before, the 1990’s television show, and is one of the best-selling titles for that age group. Take that, Archie!

And finally, the weirdest comic I saw was an issue of Marvel’s failed New Universe sitting sad and alone in between Blade and Moon Knight. I’m not quite sure how a comic like this ended up in a grocery store - NU would be aimed at fans of the original imprint, not the mainstream - but I’ll probably con myself into buying it sooner or later.

Well, that’s all for the list. I still have some questions - I’m curious how this store selects its comics, and I think I might ask around for those answers in the next installment of Pharmacy Finds. Meanwhile, if your local pharmacy or grocery store has any comics sold at all, let me know what they are. I’d love to compare notes.

The third round of Small Press Idol has begun, and all the projects are posted, with less than a week left of official voting.

Sequential art is a lot harder to produce than just character designs and a cover, and the intensity shows in the line-up. No team managed to turn in a project on the first day of submissions, and many teams found themselves navigating a difficult deadline.

With the June 3rd deadline passed, the current line-up is conspicously absent of several heavy-hitters of rounds past. Virgina Mills-Barfield’s Windy City and Joe Reynolds’ Philadelphia: The Game are not among the posted works. At this point, there’s no way of knowing if they miss or made it and haven’t been posted yet. Although I will say this - if the latter is true, the crazy competition is going to get that much crazier.

The current Top 6 looks like Ninja Garden, Sky Pirates, Thieves, The Mid Ground, The Retreiver and Gutter.

Another prize has been added to the works - the next seven works will provide the cover and lead story for their respective Mysterious Visions Anthology. At this time, they are Translucent, Ruthless, Kensuke, Zombies of Liberty, Ho vs. Joe, Pierced, Pinnacle and Arena.

But with less than a week to go, all of this is sure to change! So do you’re civic duty and vote!

Vote Pierced!

(I can’t help it . . . I really want that cover now!)

I, or rather, my schedule, still isn’t up to 100 percent, so I had something a little different in mind for these week’s list - mixing some much needed research with the feature today.

Maybe you are a writer. Maybe you are an artist. Maybe you are both - in which case I’m very jealous. Here’s the hypothetical - you have a finished project, and you want to get it out to a major comic book publishers. Unfortunately, never mind the many, many, many hardships it took to get that project on paper - the journey to publication hasn’t even begun yet. Don’t get me wrong - submitting can be a both uplifting and humiliating process - but if you’re a first-timmer, please leave all your well-founded dreams of doing Daredevil or Detective Comics on the first try behind - comic book submissions aren’t quite that easy, as seen below.

10) DC Comics: The comic book juggernaut provides a Talent Search for sharp-eyed artists. If you are not of the artistic inclination, however, you’ll find absolutely nothing here for the writers. The website bluntly states the process is only able to review artists, not writers. Keep in mind these policies are in place for their acquisitions, including DC’s Vertigo and Wildstorm.

BOTTOM LINE: “At this time, DC Comics does not accept unsolicited artwork or writing submissions.” The unsolicited part does bring up the option of perhaps finding an agent to represent you, but please be wary. The comic book industry is plagued with scams and fradulent agents. Always ask agents of previous works. The best way to find agents is to read the acknowledgements section of the books you read, be it fantasy, graphic novels or just plain fiction. Though this process does add a whole new layer to the submission process, you might find a bold ally in getting published with the big boys.

9) Aspen MLT: Michael Turner’s company has seriously the best looking comics out there. Not only does he have a talent for drawing beautiful women - a linchpin in the comic biz - but he also draws everything else beautiful in my opinion. To slip into Aspen would be a comic book geek’s dream, as well as a huge asset on a professional resume - even if the invitation is only open to artist
.

BOTTOM LINE: While we writers have to sulk about in the corner once again, it’s a huge opportunities for artists regardless. The submissions page - at the bottom of company info - breaks guidelines down for pencillers, inkers and colorists. The instructions tell you exactly what they are looking. If you are artistically-inclined, this is a breakthrough position.

Marvel: The company does offer avenues for both writers and artists. It requires no more than 5 pages of sample artwork or an inquiry letters from writers. Keep in mind, however, you probably won’t get that winning pitch published here - at least not at first. If you do land a job here, as writer or artist, it will be on one of their pre-existing titles, which, let’s be honest, is a helluva breakthrough. But since the company doesn’t read unsoliticed writing materals, you might consider taking that dream project you’ve been penning for years somewhere else.

BOTTOM LINE: If you do send them either artwork and inquiry, read the directions. The instructions call for a self-addressed stamped envelope as well as a completed Marvel Idea Submission Form. This is standard procedure - so get used to it - to stop lawsuits from people who “claimed” to have written some idea they submitted to Marvel. I error on the side of Matt Albie from Studio 60 - if they would have written it, they would have written it. But if you don’t trust the people you’re sending it to - don’t send it to them, simple as that.

7)Dynamite Entertainment: I picked up their Battlestar Galactica/Lone Ranger flip book on Free Comic Book Day and I was deeply impressed. Plus, they also write “Army of Darkness” and “Red Sonja” - two of the hottest titles in the biz right now. For their part, they request an inquiry letter from writers (as well as samples from colorists, pencillers and painters), which is pretty much the same as Marvel’s submission process above, with one added bonus - they may request proposals after hiring. This is a major bonus over Marvel - you can not only get your foot in the door, but you can also get your dream project possibly published as well.

BOTTOM LINE: Given the number of steller licenses this company owns, it will need to prove its caliber in originals sooner or later. This creates a demand, and its a demand YOU, the creator, should certainly take advantage of.

6) Dimestore Productions - This company might not have much in the way of razzle and dazzle as the other companies listed above, but Dimestore offers creators a yearly contest known as Small Press Idol. The contest has competitors vying for a chance to publish a mini-series with the imprint after several rounds on public voting. Not only isn’t is it downright fun to see what other creative teams are doing, but it also offers a much-needed forum for feedback to creators. The judges all provide great critque of each Round - be it premise and cover art, character designs, sequentials or the ultimate Issue #0 sell-off. I don’t care what anyone says; that Simon Cowell has nothing on Roger Foucault!

BOTTOM LINE: There’s only so much your family and friends can tell you about your work. While Dimestore might not have the vast resources of other publisher, it does offer a way to refine your work over and over again, even if you don’t win the big prize. In addition, the company offers many other publishing opportunities year-long!

5) Image - The company revolutionized the comic book industry - showing a little guy (albiet comprised of the best of the best) could withstand direct competition with the big two. But that was the 90’s, and Image has fallen into uncertain times. Though core titles like Savage Dragon and Spawn still run strong, much of their original universe has been fractured, and the company is certainly looking for new creators to pick up the pace. BUT make sure you read the fine print before you submit. There’s a reason the submission guidelines read “WE DON’T PAY PAGE RATES.” This means they are not the ones paying you - like an agent, they take a flat fee from the sales, but unlike an agent, it is possible for the creators to endure losses just as well as profits.

BOTTOM LINE: Don’t let this deter you from submitting to Image - it’s a huge opportunity. But conceptualize a marketing plan before you submit. Don’t just assume “It’s their job to sell this” - because its also your job if you want to make any money - especially with some responsibility for losses. Another comic company I explored - Too Hip Gotta Go Comics - runs by a similar system and explains it better than I ever could. Consider them in the same vein as Image - there are advantages and disadvantages to each company. Give both a good thought if you chose this route.

4) Antarctic Press - This company’s Free Comic Book Offering was called Pirates vs. Ninjas. Did you hear me? Pirates and Ninjas! Brilliant! That’s not all that’s brillant about this company. Though best known for more manga/anime style ventures such as “Gold Digger” and “Ninja High School”, the submissions page of this comic publisher contains a State of the Industry address at the bottom which YOU MUST READ if you want to work in comics.

BOTTOM LINE: Never submit to a comic publisher unless you know the general look of their line. Antarctic Press has a very colorful adventure feel to it, but the honesty of the submission guide combined with the loose and fun feel of their publishing line creates a very inviting atmosphere. They accept both inquiries for writers and artists.

3) Arcana Studios: Some publishers have submissions down to an art form, or at least, an on-site Internet form. Expediancy is something one must consider in comic book submission. After all, why send a comic submission out for three days through the mail, plus postage, when you can send it for free through the wonders of the Internet. Arcana, the publishers of “100 Girls”, “Starkweather” and “Dragon’s Lair”, makes it pretty easy to send your work - provided its completed with at least 5 pages of art.

THE BOTTOM LINE: Definitely one to consider. They have a strong line, and their titles span a wide range of weird and wild, and they’ve risen to top ranks of new comic book publishers because of this. There are a couple of things, however. First off, there are some holes in their website - including dead links and spelling/grammar errors - which are worrisome to the eye. Secondly, the submissions guideline seems more promise than pitch. It doesn’t read with the honesty of Too Hip Gotta Go or Antarctic - and while I’m sure they intend to deliver on their word - its just a bit odd when the publisher is selling to the creator and not the other way around.

2) Ape Entertainment: We’re down to the last two, and both publishers have one thing in common: versatility. Ape Entertainment offers quite a lot outside of the gorilla marketing (yes, that’s a pun, not a mispelling) assoicated with Silver Age Comics. Their titles span from classic pulp (Black Coat) to modern day everymen (Bizarre New World) and an indie terror (Horrorwind). The publisher wants both artists and writers, but is only accepted completed creative teams for the latter. Still, the sheer variety of their submission guide is a comic book creator’s dream.

BOTTOM LINE: They’re pretty much looking for something of everything. Unlike most companies, they accept all genres and all age-groups. In fact, not only do they consider comic book publications, but also role playing games. And they can be reached by web-link (preferred), e-mail and snail mail. Their submission guidelines are very thorough and very clear - they even explain what artistic position fill easier than others. Ape Entertainment also alternates between the role of publisher and packager. They are more on the market for one-shots and mini-series, so this might not be the place for that magnum opus ongoing you’ve been penning for so long. Still, it should rank high on any submission list regardless.

1) Dark Horse Comics: Dark Horse is proving to be a giant in the industry, and stable one that. Those are two qualities usually mutually exclusive with here-today, gone-tomorrow status of comic book companies - one company I reviewed on Free Comic Book Day just wanted to last six months in the industry! Dark Horse got its start the same way Dynamite - by picking up licenses such as Star Wars, Aliens/Predator and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. But Dark Horse Comics would proved its own versatility in later years with in-house hits like “Hellboy”, “Sin City” and most recently “City of Others”. What amazes me is, for as long as I’ve been a comic book fan, Dark Horse Comics has always been open to submissions. The merit of a company company is often judged in how it treats its submissions, and Dark Horse certainly stands above them all.

BOTTOM LINE: There of good to go around. Dark Horse is among the only companies I’ve encountered which still ask for a full script - giving writers a change to strut their stuff with some page length. The company looks for sequential quality over pin-up power for artists, though it accepts submissions of both. And all submissions must include - you guessed it - a Submissions agreement. Did I mention they have page rates - although unknown at this time - a huge bonus over Image!

HOWEVER, just because Dark Horse is the No. 1 Best Bet for Comic Creators, there are some disadvantages to these publishers just like all the rest of the list. The biggest disadvantage for Dark Horse is time. First off, they only accept snail mail. Secondly, due to the huge volumes of submissions they receive (don’t blame them, comes with the territory), they only send responses to people they wish to hire. But just look at their New Recruits Program - they’ve just narrowed down their 2005 list to 20 (admittedly the list was in thousands) and their 2004 New Recruit winner is just now going to the printer.

BOTTOM BOTTOM LINE: Patience is a virture, and Dark Horse is worth the wait, but if your project could be in limbo for a very very very long time!

In case you forgot - which I did until someone mentioned it yesterday - Saturday is Free Comic Book Day.

No, I’m not kidding. This isn’t some piece of comic book fanspeak or obscure lexicon. Free Comic Book Day is what it says it is - walk into a comic store and get free comics!

What comics you get depends a variety of factors, including the size and resouces of your local store, and whether they receive Gold or Silver sponsor comics.

Gold sponsors include a bevy of mainstream picks. I mean, can you get more mainstream than Archie, Spider-Man and Mickey Mouse? There might also include a Transformers movie prequel, Dynamite’s Lone Ranger and Battlestar Galactica, as well as Robert Kirkman’s plain cool Image title Astounding Wolfman.

Silver sponsors seem to represent a larger mixture of industry leaders as well as rising forces in the indie world. In addition to selections from Marvel, DC and Wizard Entertainment, there will also be comic represented by Virgin, Digital Webbing, Comic Genesis, Ape Entertainment, Devil’s Due, Fantagraphics, Boom! Studios and Antarctic Press. The latter’s entry is called “Pirates vs. Ninjas” . . . how much more awesome can you get!

The comic industry implosion in the early 90’s - the end result of No. 6 in “Top 10 Accidental Comic Book Discoveries” - left comic book retailers struggling to find a way to reach the public. Free Comic Book Day was one such attempt, and it has, on the whole, been successful, especially in garnering mainstream media attention as well as large crowds to the comic book shop!

Check it out this Saturday, May 5th.

Two issues into Buffy: Season Eight, Newsarma is reporting IDW will pursue a similar trend with Angel, in a comic series which will showcase Joss Whedon’s intended stories from the never-seen sixth season.

Several mini-series taking place during and after the final season ofhave already appeared, centering on either Angel or his popular rival/comrade Spike.

Joss Whedon has said he plans the season six series to be at least twelve issues long, to keep the action “tight and intense”. And while Buffy’s season eight has been entrusted to a vartiable who’s who of comic book writers - including Brad Meltzer and Brian K. Vaughan - Whedon has entrusted Brian Lynch, who worked on the Spike book Shadow Puppets.

Angel was cancelled just days after its 100th episode and strongest ratings victory over Smallville, so plans for a sixth season were already in motion when the announcement came.

I’m excited for the development - there’s been a post-finale comic developments already in IDW, but I always wanted something a bit more definite, and this looks to be very definite. Although I would have wanted some more pomp and circumstance over this development - like the kind seen for Angel’s more popular sister series Buffy - I’ll definitely up to date on any developments or release dates on this project.

Things are heating up around here. If you don’t know about Pierced, don’t worry about it - it’s a comic I’m just starting to write. If you do know about it - well - that’s just kind of weird.

Pierced is my entry into the Small Press Idol competition on DimestoreProductions.com. It’s a story about urban legends, and how gossip and lies produce a very real and very startling one in the life of local gas store clerk Garth Percy - a burnout who becomes boogeyman to the kids of a small town. And little does Garth know, the power of imagination the kids foster will have a supernatural impact on his life therein!

Round 2 of Small Press Idol is all about the character designs, and me and my team - Luke Perks, Emiliano Urich and Bryan J. Ibeas - have just posted our five unique profiles for the personalities of Pierced. This includes the titular character Pierced, who I’ve posted on the blog today. Pierced is the legendary creepster Garth Percy is destined to become - unless he can solve the mystery at the heart of this small town!

As such, votes are really appreciated. If you want to help out, sign up for the forum on DimestoreProductions.com and then take a look at the character designs here. Click OFFICIAL VOTE and then post “YES” under the resulting message board thread.

And here’s the great one - you can vote for as many projects as you want, so you can peruse the many fascinating characters all around the forum - just don’t forget about me!

Lastly, if you have any trouble with the forums, talk to Ian at Ian@dimestoreproductions.com

The rollar coaster known as Pierced has been a major time-drain in the last couple of days, so unfortunately I won’t be able to complete a Top 10 this weekend. However, expect a massive Monthly Webcomic Mash-Up along with all your Weekly Webcomic Wrap-Up goodness tomorrow!

That concludes the vagrant self-promotion. We know return to your regularly scheduled program.

Time for the Oscars of comics, better known as the Eisners, which makes more sense to me. I mean, I know who Will Eisner is, but I’m still not sure who the hell this Oscar guy is.

The nominees for the 2007 Eisner Awards have been announced. This is actually something I kind of participated, blissfully hoping for a nod myself, from my webcomic “Hector!” and its first year of operation.

It was a long shot . . . a HUGE long shot . . . but I actually did send something out, so it was kind of cool regardless of the lackluster results. But more on that later.

There’s quite a few things of interest in each category, but here are just a few of the highlights:

Stan Lee is up for an Eisner in “Best Short Story” for an entry entitled “Spider-Man Meets Stan Lee”. If I was in Spider-Man’s position, I’d punch Stan Lee in the mouth. Hard.

Will Eisner’s own creation “The Spirit” is back in the Eisners now for “Best Single Issue or One-Shot”. The nomination goes to issue #1 of Darwyn Cooke and Jeph Leob’s “Batman/The Spirit #1″. Though it was among one of the first Spirit comics not written by Will Eisner, the cover was downright hilarious and well-worth the price of admission!

Two of my favorite titles are up for Eisners in the “Best Continuing Series” category - Grant Morrison’s “All-Star Superman” and Allan Heinberg’s “Young Avengers”. If you’re a comic book fan, you owe it to yourself to pick at least one issue of these books up - I think “All-Star Superman” is already out on hardcover as well.

The “Limited Series” category seems a tight race between Paul Pope’s “Batman: Year 100″ and “Through the Looking Glass: Hatter M” by Frank Beddor, Liz Cavalier and Ben Templesmith - both extremely popular series which have sold out almost instantly every time they touched a store front.

“The Long Ranger” is actually up for an Eisner in “Best New Series” - I had heard about this book, but I didn’t know it was actually out. The Long Ranger will need all his six-shooters to make it past the considerable competition though - among them Ed Brubaker’s much-talked-about series “Criminal”.

I got beat by the best in the Digital Comics category. I was so worried I’d be out-done by a bevy of video game comics yet again. “Girl Genius” is great, and one I should probably start including on the Wrap-Up.

The Best Writer competion looks to be mostly a competition between Brubaker and Morrison - those two have contributed so much to the comic book industry lately, its hard to see one of them not going home with something. Besides, Bill Willingham hasn’t stepped out from under the shadow of Fables nearly enough, even with Shadowpact.

I’d really like to see Ben Templesmith (”Fell”, “Hatter M”) win Best Painter, but he’s in for one helluva a fight - Jill Thomspon of “Scary Godmother” fame is among the competition.

John Cassaday of “Astonishing X-Men” seems a shoe-in for Best Cover Artist, but I don’t know, I’ve seen amazing things from Conan’s Tony Harris.

You can see all the rest of the entries here. I’ve done my part

MORTAL KOMBBAAAT!!!!!

Ooops, sorry, I . . . uhhh . . . guess I got a little ahead of myself.

No, what has begun is Dimestore Productions annual Small Press Idol, a competition pitting multiple creatives teams against one another for a Dimestore imprint mini-series deal, among other prizes.

The competition began several months ago with a number of contestants posting cover and pitches, including yours truly.

Now if you excuse the enormous potential for bias herein, Round 2 has begun.

The website is still a little shakey, as the massive competition has been forced to change servers. Over 69 projects have qualified for the second round, and will submit character designs between now until May 6th, with voting, both public (yes, that means you) and by judges continuing until May 13th.

I’ve been having a lot of fun with this competition, and I’ll be bringing you highlights and updates as they come in. Also, if you’re looking for a cheap source of advertising under $100, you might want to consider Dimestore - I’m sure they could use the funds after all the server-hopping.

Almost forgot . . . here it is, your Daily Comic Book Quote:

(Sentry saves Ms. Marvel from Mole Man Monsters.)

“You’re welcome.” Sentry

“Yeah, thanks.” Ms. Marvel

“Uh, yum.” Wasp

“Focus on the monsters, you unbelievable tramp.” Ms. Marvel

Comic books are, like any entertainment industry, one built around hype. We may not always admit it, but comic book companies are all about promoting the next Watchmen, the next Sandman, just as much as Hollywood is searching for that next Godfather, that next Star Wars.

Funny thing about success is that sometimes it happens to people who weren’t looking for it, or at least not in the way they thought. Like penicillin for pages and panels, here are the Top 10 Accidental Comic Book Discoveries:

Hellblazer: Alan Moore claims to have discovered the character he first breathed to life in the pages of Swamp Thing through a real life meeting. The face-to-face was supposedly in Westiminister, London, as the reclusive writer described to Wizard Magazine an encounter with John Constantine at a sandwhich bar. I guess “Life Imitates Art” isn’t a one-way street after all!

9. Harvey Pekar: Not all success stories center around those seeking fame and fortune. A collegue of Robert Crumb and a pioneer in autobiographical comic books, Pekar’s small-press fame lead to eight appearances on David Letterman (though he was subsequently banned for criticising General Electric) as well as ultimately a feature film adaptation starring Paul Giamatti.

As Scott McCloud writes, “For years, Harvey Pekar’s American Splendor had been a lonely standard bearer for comics autobiography, but suddenly the ‘Alternative’ shelves were swarming with the things — almost enough to constitute a full-fledged genre of their own.” Pekar’s discovery by a largely mainstream culture is a success story in and of itself, documenting how Pekar met succcess on his own terms, not someone else’s.

8. Heavy Metal: Least we forget, not all comic book success stories are American. Its easy to point to Japanese manga, which have now densely populated a shelf of their own in Barnes and Noble. But while interest in manga and anime has slowly but steadily grown for decades, it was a French magazine of all things which virtually exploded on export.

Originally entitled “Metal Hurlant” (Screaming Metal) in France, this illustrated adult fantasy magazine nearly trippled in sales upon its re-naming as “Heavy Metal” by the editors of National Lampoon magazine. In addition to its overseas appeal, “Heavy Metal” would herald the apperances of the likes of Trina Robbins, Howard Chaykin, Walt Simonson and Michael Moorcock among many others. The magazine would also spawn two animated films as well as a video game, feeding a generation of science fiction and fantasy fans who had grown tired of mainstream superheroes.

7. Hellboy: If you’re a comic book fan, it stands to reason you should probably attend comic book conventions. There, you can buy (or at least drool over) rare comic book memobilla, meet and greet your favorite writers, maybe, just maybe, launch a demonic superstar from the pit of the convention hall.

Mike Mignola coined Hellboy while drawing a simple comic con cover - one that would slowly metamorphosize into the wise-cracking-demon-hunting-demon for Dark Horse Comics. Now, with a golden comic book empire as well as one feature film, two (going on three) animated DVDs and talk of a second film, Mike Mignola has effectively proved that comic conventions are moved than sweaty fans and overpriced hot dogs.

6. Golden Age Comic Boom: Not all accidental discoveries are good ones. You might be wondering, how can comics worth hundreds of thousands, if not millions be a bad thing? This is actually two accidents in one - the first the unforseen effect of a sixty-odd year history, and the second an accident waiting to happen in the comic book industry.

It was in the 1990’s that news stories were first a flutter with tales of kids finding big bucks in their grandma’s basement. Old comics from the 1940’s were all the rage, and suddenly the possibility of raising your kid’s tuition in these dimestore rags was a real possibility. But this mainstream interest backfired in the comic book shops, as the resulting “collector bubble” burst, with the industry leaders like Marvel and DC offering variant issues of big events like “The Death of Superman” to entice the non-comic crowd. Soon the truth came out: Golden Age comic prices were only hiked up by the shredding and recycling of World War II rationing efforts, with the regular laws of “supply and demand” applying to everything.

And that, my friends, is why your gold-etched copy of “The Death of Superman” is still worth only five bucks.

5. Maus: Unlike Watchmen and The Dark Knight Returns, both of which had the backing of a major comic publisher, Art Spiegelman’s Maus was for the most an underground experience, published for 3 pages in Apex Novelties in 1972, and then in serial form starting 1977 in RAW Magazine. Once collected, however, the graphic novel had a profound effect on the medium, even winning the Pulitzer Prize in 1992.

I suspect the core honesty of the book aided its impact. Art’s father, although a Holocaust survivor, exhibits racism, and one point even Art himself confesses fears his father has become the stereotypical stingy Jew. Though it may be a bit of a stretch to call this comic’s mainstream inception accidental - as the underlying metaphor of the Holocaust Jews being depicted as mice to the cats of the Nazi party was visually profound - it is amazing that such an underground graphic novel rose so quickly to the ranks of the literary elite in a time when comics were still fighting public perception as “funny-books”.

4. Star Wars: Okay, okay, I know most of this is a movie truimph, not a comic triumph, but some credit has to be given to George Lucas for holding on to the merchandising right for Star Wars, an overshot and overbudgeted film so sure to be a box office bomb, so no one really gave a Wookie in 1977. The instant success of the movie made merchandising possible, and much of that merchandise exists to this day in the form of comic books.

Though Star Wars slipped in and out of comic book form afterwards, it was truthfully Mike Richardson’s Dark Horse Comics, which expanded the view of the Star Wars Universe beyond the canon of the films, giving fans a view of characters ranging from Kevin Rubio’s bumbling Tag and Bink to Timothy Zahn’s fan-favorite figure Mara Jade.

But none of this would have happened if a maverick director all but relegated to failure for a cheeseball sci-fi flick hadn’t kept his merchandising rights.

3. Superman: We’re already in the Top 3, and you might be thinking, if this is the beginning of the Top 3, why is Superman on the bottom already?

Well, because Superman was a mediated discovery - creators Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster had high hopes for the last son of Krypton - but no one else did.

In fact, DC editor Vin Sullivan accidentally discovered what would would become the publisher’s most recognizable hero in the slush pile.

Supes joins the ranks of Stephen King and Nicolas Sparks as book-selling personalities gracing the interiors of waste baskets and slush piles alike, with Sullivan chosing the Siegel and Shuster creator simply because it looked different than all the rest.

Who knew waste disposal systems were such fountains of creativity?

2. Spider-Man: Once again, like Siegel and Shuster, writer Stan Lee had high hopes for his bold new superhero Spider-Man - but his boss Martin Goodman didn’t. The idea of a teenager being the hero instead of the guy in short-shorts running beside the hero was a laughable one back before the dawn of the Marvel-lead Silver Age.

So Lee put Spidey on the cover of the last issue of a failed series Amazing Adult Fantasy - figuring his boss wouldn’t care about Spider-Man taking up the front page of a cancelled series. But Amazing Fantasy #15 struck a cord not just in sales, but in a fan mail explosion, one which ultimately garnered Spidey his own comic, Amazing Spider-Man.

In retrospect, Spider-Man’s success paved the way for a large number of similarly angst-ridden teen heroes, including the X-Men, Teen Titans and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. But none of this wouldn’t have happened if Martin Goodman, who favored square-jawed Golden Agers like Captain America and Ka-Zar, had his way.

I mean, can you imagine a Silver Age sans the wry and skiny Spidey, replaced by the bare-chested Tarzan clone Ka-Zar?

1. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Unlike Stan Lee or Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird didn’t have high hopes in the least when they penciled on masks and ancient ninja gear onto four overgrown turtles - they were just brainstorming.

But still, Laird and Eastman knew something was up as a result of their accidental discovery, so they gathered funds from tax refunds and family loans to publish one single issue - parodying current comic hits like Daredevil (”The Foot Clan” to “The Hand”), New Mutants, Cerebrus and Ronin.

The resulting pop culture tidal wave was probably more than any Laird or Eastman could have prepared for. The subsequent Saturday morning cartoon, airing several years after the start of the creator’s Mirage series, included a far more humorous and self-conscious tone in contrast to the Laird and Eastman comicseries, which parodied the darker tones of Frank Miller and Dave Sim.

With the release of the latest TMNT at the box office, there’s no doubt from the box office numbers that TMNT still holds a popular grasp on pop culture.

Not surprisingly, Peter Laird was attached as executive producer of the CGI film, which beat down the competition for a No. 1 spot when it was released.